The Sixth Lion
by DragonLadyRelena
Summary: The Voltron Force meets a new pilot with a Lion. Will they be able to handle the new pilot and what secrets does the pilot have to hide? First installment of the Dusty Saga. Rewritten and edited. Rated T just in case, for language.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** Once again, I don't own it, and never will. I'm used to it these days. I'm just having fun with established characters and a couple of my own creation. I'm not making any money off of this story. With this eternal torture over once again, let's get on with the story.

**AN:** I started this story back in Auto Shop my sophomore year of high school, and finished not long after starting it, as you can probably tell. Well, looking back on it now, several years and many stories later, I've decided to revise this one. Due to time constraints, I've put it off until now. I'm going to do my best not to change the overall story, but it might become necessary, so forgive me if it happens. Here we go, and please review.

* * *

**Prologue:**

She studied the planet from a safe distance, well outside the early warning satellites. From here, it seemed peaceful, a beautiful ball of blues, greens and browns traveling through space. The dark haired woman knew from what news trickled through the filters both Zarkon and Lotor had imposed on her planet, that it was anything but. Between Planet Doom and other enemies, she was surprised that it had survived as long as it had. Part of that, she was sure, was the result of Voltron and the pilots who flew the lions. She'd heard many things about them, from the truth to the absolutely ridiculous, and decided that it was time to return one Lion home.

Her console beeped at her, and she glanced at it, one eyebrow lifting as she got a good look at who was approaching. _Well, well,_ she thought to herself with a chuckle. _Looks like I'm just in time._

* * *

**Arus: Castle of Lions**

The sun shone brightly, only occasionally obscured by thick clouds, a slight breeze teasing Allura's hair as she wandered through the gardens Keith and the others had labored for months to replant. Originally her mother's, Allura had taken over their care before Zarkon's forces had destroyed them along with most of the Castle of Lions and sending her people fleeing to the hills. With everything that had happened the last couple of years, replacing the gardens had taken a backseat in her mind. Other much more important things had demanded her time, energy and resources.

She didn't know where he'd found them, but Pidge had come across some old pictures of the gardens and wondered where they had been before Zarkon had attacked. Coran had shown him, as Allura was busy with her studies, and the young pilot had begun forming a plan. Somehow roping the others into it, they'd began replanting the gardens, eking the time out of other tasks or working late into the night to finish them.

Four days ago, Pidge had come to see her, saying he had something he thought she might want to see. Curious, she followed him, even after he took out the blindfold and asked her to tie it around her head. One hand on his shoulder, she went with him, pestering him with questions, but all he would say was that it was a surprise. When he finally allowed her to take the blindfold off, she'd been touched by what they'd done for her. "Happy birthday, Princess," Pidge said, smiling up at her. With tears in her eyes, she bent to give him a hug and made him blush by kissing his cheek.

"Hey, we did a lot of work, too!" Lance complained, making her laugh. She crossed to the others, giving each of them a hug and a kiss in turn.

"Thank you, all of you, so very much," she said, her voice full of pride for them and a little wonder that she had friends who would think to restore her mother's gardens to their former glory. "This means so much to me."

"We were happy to do it," Keith answered, giving her his best commander look, but the happy light in his eyes ruined it completely.

"To tell the truth, Princess, I don't know what half of these plants are," Hunk confessed, scratching his head a little. "Sure they're pretty and all, but what are they?" She laughed again, taking them through the gardens they'd worked so hard on, giving them the names of every plant and each of them had a story of how they'd come to be in the first gardens. It had been fun walking with them, telling stories her parents had told her, but today, she needed solitude, the peace the gardens gave her.

She bent over to sniff a white rose when a familiar feeling shivered up her spine. Straightening quickly, she spun around to see Lotor leaning against a tree, arm crossed over his chest, smiling cruelly at her. "What are you doing here?" she wanted to shout, but the world went gray then black.

"Nicely done, Haggar," Lotor said, scooping Allura into his arms. "She didn't feel a thing."

"As promised, my Prince," she cackled in reply. "It will wear off in a few hours, so we'll have to move quickly."

* * *

**Forest Near Castle of Lions**

She watched Lotor and Haggar steal out of the gardens, the unconscious Allura over the Prince's shoulder, and sighed. If anyone had been with her, they would have heard the exasperation in it, but there was also relief. He really was becoming predictable, and worse yet, he didn't even know it. With it, she'd known who he was after, and what was guaranteed to come later. On the other hand, Haggar had come along on this little mission, and that could make things a little dicey, but she'd have to take the chance. If Lotor made his usual demand of the Voltron Force, he would demand that they come to him somewhere private and hand over the keys to their lions.

He hadn't gotten them yet, but he'd come close a couple of times. This was probably his best chance to get exactly what he wanted, but no one knew she was there, or that she planned to throw a huge wrench into his plans.

* * *

**Castle of Lions**

"Commander, have you seen the princess?" Nanny called, making Keith stop and turn to face her. Seeing her always made him nervous, but he never let it show. He saw no need to give the old dragon any more ammunition against him than absolutely necessary.

"No, ma'am," he replied respectfully, shaking his head. "Not recently. I saw her heading for the gardens a little while ago. She might still be there."

"I checked there," Nanny told him, wringing her hands in worry. "She's not there. I've already asked the guards to check the rest of the castle, but no one's seen her." She paced away before swinging back to face him. "Where could she--" The rest of her words were drowned out by the alarms.

"Excuse me, Nanny," he said, giving Nanny a brief nod before turning away to run for the control room. The others pounded in after him, Allura the only one missing. Coran was already pressing buttons, working quickly to find out what had caused the alarm.

"Where's the princess?" Lance asked quietly, glancing at Keith, who shrugged.

"What's going on?" he asked Coran, coming up behind the aging diplomat's chair. He looked up at the screen just as the familiar bat-shape of Lotor's personal ship appeared.

"Should have known," Hunk growled, crossing his arms over his chest. "He's usually behind the alarm these days."

"He's sending a transmission," Coran said, pressing the button to open the communication channel after sharing a quick look with Keith. "What do you want now, Lotor?"

"Voltron Force, I have your precious princess," he replied, completely ignoring Coran. "If you ever want to see her alive again, you'll come to the Roaring Falls in two hours. Bring the keys to your lions, but nothing more." His ultimatum issued, he cut communication, leaving stunned silence on the other end.

"What do we do?" Pidge asked, looking at his fellow pilots.

"Exactly as he asked, Pidge," Keith answered, his tone colder than winter. His friends knew that tone was dangerous, quite likely deadly to anyone it was directed toward. "We don't know what kind of surprises he has up his sleeve, so we have to do as he wants for the moment."

"But, Keith--"

"Lance, it's the only way." He turned to his second in command, his face harder than if it was carved of granite. "He'll do everything he can to stop us, but this once, we have to do as he says. I don't like it anymore than you do, but it's our only option."

"Good luck," Coran added, standing to face them. He didn't approve of Keith's plan, that much was clear, but like him, he knew it was their only option at the moment. "Just bring her back." With quick nods to him, they ran from the control room, heading for the stables.

* * *

**Roaring Falls**

Allura woke slowly, Haggar's spell wearing off. She was tied inside the falls themselves, the water pounding against her. It drew the ropes that held her bound tighter around her chest, making it increasingly difficult to breathe. Her hair hung in a sodden curtain in front of her face, giving her a small pocket of air. Bracing her feet on the wall behind her, she pushed off and out of the falls. She took a much-needed deep breath before swinging back into the water. The lake the falls emptied into was more than a hundred feet below her. If the rope gave and she fell, she would either die when she hit the water or drown, held under by the power of the falls.

That was, of course, if the rope holding her arms against her chest didn't suffocate her first.

While she had no idea what Lotor had planned, she could guess that it had to do with getting the others to hand over the keys to their lions, then perhaps calling some robeast to destroy them. Despite her precarious position, Allura could admire Lotor's plan. It was one of his better ones, even if Haggar had given him a nudge or two, and if all went as he thought it would, it was as close to foolproof as any plan he came up with could be.

_Allura?_ Keith's voice asked into her mind, barely above a whisper. It was hardly the first time they'd spoken this way, but it still took some getting used to when it happened outside of their lions. It was only one of the many reasons that they usually won their battles, but it was left mostly unspoken between them. They preferred it that way: just one more mystery to the mighty robot they saw no reason to bring to light.

_Keith,_ she answered with a relieved sigh. _Where are you?_

_Getting closer,_ he replied, his voice growing stronger as he and the others drew nearer. _Where are you?_

Inside_ the falls,_ she said, bracing her feet against the wall again. She waited, conserving her strength for the moment, not knowing what Keith had planned.

_Can you breathe, Princess?_ Lance asked, joining the conversation.

_As long as I don't move too much, I can,_ she replied, pushing off the wall now. This time, as she swung back into the water, she felt the rope give a little. _Did I mention that this rope isn't up to code? It could give out at any time, and when it goes, I go._ She felt Lance's shock, then Keith's. He was obviously sharing this new information with him, then Keith's anger came through over the shock. _Oh, boy, he's mad._

_That doesn't quite cover it, Princess,_ Lance told her with a weak chuckle. _I think he'd like to rip Lotor apart with his bare hands right now._

"I can see that you have two choices, Commander," Lotor was saying, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring smugly at Keith. "You can surrender and the Princess will live, or you can continue this argument and the rope will break."

"I see that _you_ have one of two choices, Lotor," Keith replied, mirroring his gesture, expression and tone. "You can get her down and we might let you die quickly, or if she dies, you will, too, only much more slowly and painfully." Keith let his malice show in his dark eyes. Lotor actually considered taking a step back, but he only stiffened his spine against the young commander's ire.

"The rope's getting weaker, Commander," he reminded Keith, shaking his head a little, as if in pity. "It won't hold long."

_I hate to break up the party,_ Allura broke in, a light note of panic in her voice, _but this rope is giving out. Someone _might_ want to rescue me . . . _now _would be good!_ Suddenly, over the roar of the falls, another roar was heard, sounding distinctly mechanical. Everyone looked up, except Allura, to see a brown lion sitting on top of the falls, looking down on them with almost human disdain.

"I don't think so, Lotor," said a female voice over the external system. "I see it this way: you can either let her go, or I destroy your way off this planet, leaving you at the commander's mercy." The lion's eyes glowed red for a moment. "By the way, don't look to Haggar to save you this time. I knocked her out, and she's tied up in your ship."

"Who are you?" he demanded, whirling to face the lion. It was mistake, given Keith was still behind him, but he'd forgotten completely about him in his anger.

"Someone you already killed," she answered, her voice hard with anger and hatred of her own. "You won't get the chance to do it again." The lion roared again, and Lotor ran like there was a pack of hellhounds on his tail, clearly outmaneuvered. They let him, though the lion turned to watch his flight, making sure he lifted off and was gone before leaping down from the top of the falls to the ground.

Heaving an internal sigh, and resolving to keep most of his questions until later, Keith climbed to the top of the lion's head when the pilot lowered it. The lion walked slowly into the water before rising to its hind legs so he could reach Allura. Taking a knife from his belt, he cut the rope above the unconscious princess, catching her safely in his arms. Moving slowly, the lion turned and walked back out of the lake, dropping to its belly once it was on solid ground again. The top hatched opened as Keith was slicing the ropes that were still tight around Allura's arms and chest.

The pilot climbed out, but didn't approach them, standing back to study him as he studied her. She was tall, at least six feet, with large gray eyes. At present, her eyes were calm pools of quiet confidence; she was observing, assessing, totally contained. Totally unperturbed and unthreatened. Her hair, a deep raven black, was pulled back in a tight braid that reached her waist. Wearing a blue jumpsuit, liberally spattered with grease and oil, she looked like a mechanic. Keith tried to read her intentions in her mind, but she was much stronger than he was and kept him out with ease.

"Who are you?" he asked, standing with Allura cradled protectively in his arms. "Where did you get your Lion?" She studied him for another moment. Keith wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she obviously found it because she nodded a little in what seemed like approval.

"My name is Dusty," she answered, still not moving closer toward them. "The Brown Lion was my father's."

"Keith, we should get back!" Lance called from where he stood with Hunk and Pidge beside the horses. Dusty gestured back to the still-open hatch behind her.

"We'll get her back sooner if you ride with me," she said, clearly leaving the decision up to him. "Once we're back at the castle, you can ask me all the questions that have to be bouncing around in your head." She shrugged at his dubious look. "It's up to you, Commander. Either way, I'm leaving the Brown Lion with you. I don't need it and it was my father's last wish that I bring it back here."

"Keith!" He looked over his shoulder at the others, mounted now and clearly waiting to see if he would come with them, before turning back to Dusty. She lifted an eyebrow, waiting herself.

"We'll come with you," he answered finally, sending the message to Lance to go ahead without them. He followed Dusty back to the hatch, letting her drop in first before carefully handing Allura down.

"Ready?" she asked once he was inside and had closed the hatch behind him.

"Let's go." Dusty lifted off smoothly and sped toward the castle, easily reaching it well before the others. She landed her Lion outside the pillars that supported Keith's own Black Lion, wondering what was going to happen now.

* * *

**Castle of Lions**

Once Allura was in the infirmary, and everyone assured she'd be fine with some rest, the four pilots and Coran headed for the rec room to ask Dusty the questions she could feel buzzing around in their heads. They were, naturally, suspicious of her, having absolutely no reason to trust her or the circumstances she'd arrived under. For all they knew, she was working with Lotor, and had no way of knowing if she was who she said she was, or what her intentions were. _Sometimes,_ Dusty thought to herself with secret amusement,_ being an Empath just isn't worth it._

A corner sofa dominated the space, with a square table in front of it. Chairs were placed around the room, the kind you could probably sink into until you disappeared. Books and magazines were scattered over the table, telling her the room was often used for team meetings or for relaxing and hanging out. Waiting until the others had chosen their favorite places to sit, with the exception of Keith who stood by the windows that flooded the room with natural light, she sat herself in one of the chairs, unconsciously keeping her back to the wall.

The silence stretched, growing distinctly uncomfortable, between them, until Dusty finally broke it. "You might as well ask your questions," she said with a slight chuckle, "or you'll explode."

"Where are you from?" Keith was the first to ask, beating Coran to it by half a heartbeat.

"Kimaine," she answered, shaking her hair loose from its braid. "We were attacked by Lotor five years ago."

"What about your family?" Hunk asked, looking at her with curiosity in his brown eyes.

"What about them?" she returned, irritation in her gray ones. The look she gave him made him glad that looks could, in fact, not kill.

"Where did you get the Brown Lion?" Coran asked into the tense silence that followed.

"It was my father's," Dusty answered, pushing a hand through her hair. "He wanted me to bring it back here."

"Why?" It was Pidge's turn now, and he was taking advantage of it while he could.

"He told me it belonged here." She looked out the window, seeing the Black Lion and her own standing guard at the other end of the bridge. "He was right."

"Who was your father?" Lance wondered, sensing something about her. He felt as if she was hiding something, but he couldn't be sure what it was, or even if it had anything to do with how she'd come by her Lion.

"Jeremiah Haff," Dusty answered, not yet seeing the relevance of his question.

"I thought so," Coran said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees and looking down at his hands.

"Who was he?" Keith asked, his own curiosity hidden deep. He managed to keep it from his face, though it was an effort.

"He was a test pilot," Coran replied, not looking up. "One day, he was testing a prototype of the lions you fly when he disappeared."

"How long ago was this?" Hunk seemed to have found his voice again, at least long enough to ask his question.

"Twenty two years ago," he replied, finally looking up with haunted eyes. Dusty nodded, as though she'd already known that.

"He was attacked while testing out the sensors," she explained to the others, "and crash landed on Kimaine. Unfortunately, the Lion's long-range communicator was damaged and the engines were almost destroyed. He managed to hide it deep inside a cave to keep it from being discovered, before collapsing almost at my mother's feet. She took him home and nursed him back to health, and they fell in love in the process. He worked on the Brown Lion every night, alone, telling no one other than my mother where he was going."

"Did you help him?" She nodded in response to Pidge's question.

"Eventually. We almost had it fixed when Lotor attacked." She shrugged, dismissing five years of slavery as if it meant little. "I finally found the opportunity to escape and bring Brown Lion home."

"What do you plan to do now?" Lance asked, leaning forward a little to see her better. She pushed a hand through her hair again before linking her fingers under her chin and heaving a sigh.

"To tell the truth, I don't know," she answered at last, shrugging one shoulder. "At present, Brown Lion is my only mode of transportation."

"What about going back to Kimaine to help your people?"

"Kimaine was destroyed three days ago, most of my people with it. The ones that survived are in the dungeons of Planet Doom now." She shook her head, a mask much like the one Keith habitually wore smoothing her features. "There's nothing to go back to." She stood, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "If you'll excuse me, there are still some minor repairs that need to be done on Brown Lion." She left without waiting for an answer, leaving five men staring after her.

* * *

**AN:** Well, that was fun. Let's see if I can keep going. On to the next chapter! Remember, flames are for roasting marshmallows, but I will accept constructive criticism.


	2. Plagues and Battle

**Disclaimer:** As always, I don't own Voltron or any of the characters or places contained therein. I'm just having fun, both with established characters and my own. I am making no money off of this, and never will.

* * *

**Planet Doom: Haggar's Laboratory**

"It's your fault the plan didn't work, old witch!" Lotor thundered, pacing off his anger. He could admit that he needed her powers to achieve his goals, and that was probably the only thing saving her life at the moment.

"I didn't sense her, my prince," she replied, making it a statement. There was no apology or excuse in her tone. "She attacked when I wasn't expecting it." She paused, gathering her thoughts as she mixed ingredients in a bowl with only a vague idea of what the potion would do when she was finished. It happened sometimes, her powers taking over her subconscious mind and leading her thoughts through a spell or her hands when mixing a potion. "She has power, how much I can't say just yet, but she hasn't practiced them as much as she should have."

"More power than you?" he demanded with a sneer, shoving a hand through his white hair. "Perhaps I should get a new witch."

"Not more power than me," Haggar argued, but not denying the possibility outright, "just of a different kind than mine. There's something more going on here, my prince, than we know, and quite possibly more than the Voltron Force is aware of, either." She sighed quietly. Admitting weakness, especially to one's ruler, even more so in the Drule Empire, was never a good idea, but there times it was unavoidable. She honestly had no idea what it was about this new pilot that had made it easy for her to sneak up on her, but she'd done it. Unconscious, she hadn't been able to help Lotor win the stalemate that had grown when he'd kidnapped the princess. Such failure almost always resulted in death, and she knew that the only thing keeping her alive was the fact that her plans almost always worked . . . to a point.

"Find out, Haggar," Lotor replied, finally stopping in his pacing, "and use the virus from Kimaine on Arus. The one with no cure."

"As you wish, Sire," she answered, bowing briefly to his back as he left the room. Looking down at her potion, she saw that it was giving off a faint blue glow. _Interesting result,_ she thought, and realized what it was for. It was the cure for the virus. She cackled, making her blue cat, Coba, wake from his nap on his chair. "How absolutely delightful," she said to herself, "except for one thing: I have no idea how I created it." She sighed again. "I'll meditate, see if I can figure it out."

* * *

**Arus: Castle of Lions**

Dusty sat alone, her flute in her lap, wondering just how much more about the Lion and herself she'd have to reveal before they realized that she had no wish other than to return Brown Lion to its rightful home. Coran had kept her in the control room, talking about the repairs and modifications she and her father had made to the Lion both before and after her father's death, Hunk and Pidge listening in rapt attention, until it was almost time for dinner. She'd plead exhaustion and been shown to a room by the dour-faced Nanny, realizing that she'd been put as far away from the others as possible. Rather than complain, or ask if a tent in the forest would be far enough away, she'd thanked Nanny for the trouble of having a room prepared for her. Nanny had humphed and stomped away, leaving Dusty to sigh and shake her head.

She tossed her duffle bag onto the bed, and after setting her laptop on the desk, she took her flute case out to Brown Lion. The tune she played was an old one, sad and sweet, fitting her mood perfectly. Still playing, Dusty turned her eyes to the setting sun, enjoying the play of colors across the sky and lake. She didn't know someone else was out there until she heard faint applause coming from below here. "What are you doing out here?" she asked her unexpected audience, trying not to sound annoyed.

"About the same as you, I expect," Keith replied, climbing up beside her. "How long have you been able to play like that?"

"Since I was thirteen," she answered, shrugging, though she appreciated his compliment. "Both my mother and father knew how to play, so they taught me." She turned to face Keith. "How's the Princess?"

"She's fine," he replied, with a slight nod. "She woke up a little while ago. What happened between you and Coran?"

"I'd rather not talk about it right now," she replied somewhat testily. Then she turned back to see that the sun was down and just behind the retreating light was a blue that was almost purple. The first stars were making themselves visible on the eastern horizon. "I don't know about you," she commented, her voice and emotions under control again, "but I'm really tired, and ready to go to bed."

"Me too," he said, acknowledging her not too subtle hint that she wanted to be left alone. "See you in the morning." He climbed down after she did, nodding to her as they went their separate ways inside. "Good night, Dusty."

"Good night, Keith," she responded just loud enough for him to hear as he walked down the hall. He looked over his shoulder, one eyebrow lifted, but she was already gone.

* * *

**Planet Doom: Lotor's Quarters**

Lotor was still fuming from his defeat, but had himself under better control now. He'd always thought better on his feet, so he stood to pace once more, having sat down three times already as he tried to puzzle out the problem of the new pilot. Something about her voice stirred a memory, but it was vague and he was unable to completely force it to make sense. He was on his fourth circuit of the room when it came to him. "Raven" he growled, coming to an abrupt halt. "That annoying woman is still alive?"

The last time he had seen her was three years ago. She had been the leader of an underground resistance then. His men occupying planet Kimaine had captured her more than once, but each time she escaped. During the latest escape, she had broken her leg and fallen into a river. His men had searched up and downstream, but could find no sign of her, and farther downstream was a powerful waterfall. Even if she'd survived the fall, the waterfall would have killed her. They had called off the search and reported her dead, which obviously wasn't the case. How she kept surviving the impossible was a mystery, one he was determined to solve.

She had been a constant thorn in his side when she'd lead the resistance, destroying or sabotaging equipment, stealing food for the other slaves, and even rewiring the slave and pursuit ships so the sensors and communications systems were reversed or interfered with each other. His father had hounded him mercilessly to stop the resistance, saying that the slaves from Kimaine were valuable for more than the obvious reasons, but he'd never learned what it was about them that had drawn his father's notice.

This latest plan would rid him of both the Voltron Force _and_ Raven once and for all.

* * *

**Arus: Castle of Lions**

Despite being kidnapped from the garden two days ago, Allura was again wandering the paths, all too aware of the extra guards staying a discreet distance away. Coran, Nanny _and_ Keith had teamed up on this one, leaving her little choice but to accept the increased protection for the time being. Keith knew she hated to be hovered over, especially by her well-meaning guardians, but she knew he was doing it not only because she was a valued part of the team, but because he was her friend. She'd sighed when they told her of the extra guards, and accepted with as much dignity and grace as she could muster. It was only until they'd figured out this latest plan of Lotor's, then the guards would go back to their other duties.

As she crouched to pull a stray weed from a flowerbed, she heard the most beautiful music coming from somewhere nearby. She looked around, trying to find the source of the beautiful melody. Dusty was seated on the thick carpet of grass under a willow tree, almost completely hidden by the drooping branches, a flute pressed to her lips. A gentle breeze moved the leaves of the tree enough so that the sunlight glinted off the highly polished silver.

Dusty's eyes were closed, her expression one of intense concentration as she thought of the notes, like she was reading the page in her mind. Her fingers moved steadily and surely as she played the sad tune. Finally, she played the final note, letting it rise then slowly fall to nothing. When she opened her eyes, she jumped in surprise at seeing Allura standing there. She said nothing when she realized that she'd had an audience. "It was beautiful," Allura said, wondering why she was so quiet. Dusty nodded in thanks, but still remained silent. "So what brings you out here?"

"The sunshine, peace and quiet," she finally replied, looking past the swaying branches to the flowers. She shrugged, as if any of it meant little. When a robin landed not far from them, Dusty reached into her pocket and tossed a small handful of seeds toward the bird. Others quickly joined it and squabbled over the seeds, puffing up their feathers and jostling each other to get at the scattered seeds. A smile tugged at Dusty's lips as she tossed more. Soon, all the seeds were gone and the birds, almost as one, spread their wings and flew away. Dusty sighed, almost sadly.

"What is it?" Allura asked gently, looking at her. Dusty's gray eyes were turned inward, her expression pensive.

"I haven't spent this much time out in the open in four years," she replied, her voice almost a whisper. "There was always something for me to do or it was just too dangerous to go out." She rubbed her right biceps with her left hand, feeling the brand under her fingers, midway between her shoulder and elbow. Allura remained quiet through all this, wondering what had happened to Dusty before she came to Arus. Dusty closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them, it was like nothing had happened.

Allura shook her head in amazement at the sudden change. Knowing she would probably never understand what went on in Dusty's head, she just sat with her under the willow, enjoying her company. Later that day, Dr. Gorma came to her looking worried. "I think we may have a problem," he whispered, his voice tinged with concern. "I have to talk to you. Alone." She nodded and followed him to the infirmary.

"What is it, Doctor?" she asked as soon as the door closed behind them.

"I've gotten reports from other hospitals," he said, gesturing to a pile of papers on a corner of his desk, "that hundreds of people have come down with a mysterious illness that they've never seen before."

"And they've asked us if we can help?" she asked, already knowing the answer. He confirmed it with a nod. "Can we?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure," he replied, sitting on the edge of his desk with a weary sigh. "I've been poring over every medical book I have, but nothing like what they describe is in there." Allura was quiet for a moment as she wondered what was happening to her planet.

"I've got an idea," she said, all but running from the office to find Dusty, leaving the very confused doctor behind her. She found her in the library. "Dusty can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked, trying to catch her breath. When Dusty shrugged indifferently, Allura sat down. "What happened on your planet before Lotor attacked it?" If she could have avoided asking, she would have, but this was an emergency and lives were hanging in the balance.

"There was a plague that wiped out a little over half the entire population," she replied, her face turning to stone at the reminder. "Why?" Allura hastily told her what she knew, leaving nothing out. "Take me to him," she said, already making her way to the door, Allura hot on her heels.

"Can you tell me their symptoms?" Dusty asked a few minutes later, seated in the doctor's office.

"Fever, skin lesions, sensitivity to light, reduced appetite," he answered, shuffling through some papers. "Let me see . . . migraines, joint swelling and abdominal cramps." He looked up at Dusty, who had become frighteningly pale. "Are you all right?" he asked, standing up in concern, ready to rush around his desk should she faint.

"Fine," she replied, annoyed but grateful for the thought. "It's the same." She pinched the bridge of her nose with one hand. "The same one from my planet."

"Did you get sick with it, Dusty?" Allura asked, turning to face her. She wanted to reach out, but knew the gesture wouldn't be appreciated at the moment. Dusty nodded once, quickly.

"I think we may have a place to start, Dusty," the doctor told her, smiling a little.

"What do you need?"

"Just a little blood."

"Done."

* * *

**Planet Doom: Haggar's Laboratory**

"You say you've found the cure for the virus?" Lotor demanded as he strode into Haggar's lab. The blue cat was in its usual place, on a table near where the witch was working, bottling a glowing blue potion. Haggar nodded. "When did you do that?"

"The day you ordered me to disperse it on planet Arus, my Prince," she answered without looking up. "It didn't have a cure until then." She looked up as she pushed a stopper into the last bottle, set it aside and picked up another. The slim bottle was slightly warm from the potion within when he took it from her.

"What's this for?"

"If you plan on going to Arus," she said, turning back to gather her bottles together, "you're going to need it. The virus is highly contagious, and only those who have survived it or drink that potion would be immune to it." She put the bottles in a large chest, locking it with a spell. "All the Kimaines who survived the virus are in the dungeons."

"Very well," he said, deciding not to mention Raven, now on Arus. If anyone could figure out the cure, other than Haggar, who had created the virus, Raven would.

* * *

**Arus: Castle Of Lions**

** Three days later**

"Having fun?" Lance asked, looking up at Dusty through blurry eyes. He was trying to be cheerful, despite the fact that he'd been confined to his bed for the last two days, most of that time asleep. Like the other patients, he went through bouts of high fever only to start shaking with cold, no matter how many blankets were piled on top of him.

"How can taking care of you be fun?" she retorted, lightly teasing, even though she was inwardly seething. In her opinion, only cowards used biological warfare, which was exactly what this virus was. She and Dr. Gorma had been working since the first day to isolate the antibodies she carried in her blood, often forgetting to eat and sleep in their absorption. They were close, both could feel it, but as Dusty had said once, "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades." The antibodies had so far proved elusive, defying all attempts to isolate them from her blood. She'd donated close to a pint to Dr. Gorma, all in an effort to get the cure for the plague running rampant around the planet.

Since even Coran and Nanny were sick, Dusty and Dr. Gorma had taken the initiative and quarantined Arus, no one going in or out until the pandemic was under control. As a precaution, the doctor had spoken to Romelle and Sven on Pollux, asking for some ships to patrol the area to make sure that the quarantine wasn't broken from either direction. Prince Bandor was on his way, but it would reasonably be another few hours or tomorrow before he arrived.

"Keith's even worse," he warned, the last word ending on a cough. Dusty helped him sit up and pressed a pillow against his chest to ease the pain until the spasm passed. "Thanks."

"No problem," she told him, placing a cool cloth on his brow, trying to keep his fever from rising too much higher. She stood, rolling her shoulders and massaging her neck. "Sleep if you can." He closed his eyes and was asleep before she left the room. She leaned against the wall after the door closed behind her with a weary sigh. Other than a few hasty bites of a sandwich, she hadn't eaten since around midnight, and sleep had become a distant memory. Nothing was going to stop her from finding the cure for this.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" said a voice to her left. Turning, Dusty saw a maid nervously wringing her hands a few paces away.

"Yes? What is it?" she asked, straightening and running her hands through her tangled black hair. She pulled it back through a band, leaving the resulting ponytail hanging down her back from the nape of her neck.

"Dr. Gorma is looking for you, ma'am," the maid replied, dipping a quick curtsy. Dusty nodded and made her way to the infirmary, the maid following a respectful distance behind. "Will you be needing anything else, sir?" she asked when they arrived at the doctor's office.

"No, Trudy," he replied without looking up from the report on his desk. "That's all."

"Yes, sir," she murmured, giving a quick curtsy before leaving. Dusty leaned against his desk without a word. She waited for him to say what she had been brought to listen to. She didn't have to wait long.

"I think I found the antibodies that were left when you got over the illness," he told her, leaning back in his chair and rubbing bleary eyes.

"Now what?"

"Now, we see if we can copy them," he answered around a yawn. "First, we both need some sleep and something to eat." He looked down at his clothes with were wrinkled and dirty. "And a shower. Not necessarily in that order." She laughed along with him as they both stood and left.

Dusty, instead of going to bed, went to check on the others. Lance was still asleep, Pidge and Hunk were awake, but drifted off after a few minutes. Allura was tossing in her bed but quieted when Dusty placed a cool cloth on her forehead. Keith was asleep, everything but a sheet in a heap on the floor. Dusty shook her head and folded them, placing them on the foot of the bed. Then she went to her room, showered and curled up in her bed for a couple hours of sleep.

The sound of the alarms going off woke Dusty from a light sleep less than an hour after she'd dropped into an exhausted slumber. "This is absolutely peachy," she groused, throwing the covers back and pulling a shirt over her head before running through the halls and into the control room. Alone, she sat down in the command chair and pressed a button. The familiar black bat-like shaped ship appeared on the view screen. "I don't have time for this," she groaned, running her hands through her still damp hair in frustration. She crossed her legs, bare beneath the football shorts she wore, leaned back and wondered what new devilry Lotor and Haggar were up to now.

* * *

**To Be Continued . . . **


	3. Battle Plans

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the original characters, and I'm just borrowing them to have a little fun. I _do_ own Dusty, Brown Lion, and any characters that aren't in the original story line. With that absolutely horrendous torture over once again, let's get on with the story!

* * *

**Arus: Castle of Lions**

"What do you want, Lotor?" she demanded as she pressed the button that opened communications.

"Arus," he said smugly, "but it seems that I already have that."

"No, what you have is a disease ridden planet," she told him, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back in the chair.

"I have this planet at my mercy, _Raven,_" he said, yellow eyes narrowing in irritation. She was inwardly surprised that he remembered her code name from years ago, but she didn't let it show on her face. Dusty'd had many code names over the years in the resistance, but Raven was the one she liked best.

"Oh, really?" she asked, both eyebrows winging upward. "How so?"

"My fleet has surrounded your planet," he replied, his eyes flashing with something close to triumph now. "Unless I get what I want, they'll open fire and reduce this planet to cinders."

"Is that right?" she asked, lazily stretching her arms over her head. "Well, to me, you sound like a spoiled, selfish prick."

"How dare you speak to me that way!" he sputtered in outrage.

"Oh, I dare all right," she said, uncrossing her legs and sitting up. "Destroying everyone still alive on this planet will make _them _martyrs and _you _would be the subject of universal ridicule. Killing a bunch of sick and unarmed people. I don't think even _you _could go that low." She knew by the look on his face that she'd hit a nerve. Dusty stood and shut down communications on a string of obscenities and promises of retribution.

She called up images from some of the satellites. _Damn, _she thought when saw was out there. The _entire _Doom Fleet was positioned around the planet. "That bastard," she muttered, plopping back down in the chair.

"What is it?" a raspy voice asked from behind her

"You should be in bed, Keith," she said without turning around. She covered her eyes with one hand. "I'm surprised you got this far." She turned to find him wrapped in one of the blankets from his bed, his face flushed and covered with sweat.

"I know," he croaked, voice breaking. Dusty stood and pushed him down into the chair. "Is that what I think it is?" he asked, looking up at the view screen. She nodded and began massaging his shoulders from behind.

"How much of that did you hear?" she asked, looking up at it, too.

"Enough," he said, sighing in relief as she continued the massage. "How much stealth does your lion have?"

"Why?" she asked, though her thoughts were running along the same path as his. She moved up to his neck.

"I've got an idea," he replied, leaning back into her hands. She chuckled as he sighed again.

* * *

**Arus: In Orbit**

"What was that?" Lotor demanded as several of his ships unexpectedly exploded, shaking his ship.

"I don't know, Sire," a robot guard replied. "This attack has come from nowhere."

"It has to have come from somewhere," he growled, his ire rising rapidly.

"This is Price Bandor," a voice said over his communication system. "This planet is under our protection. You are in violation of our territory." Prince Bandor's image appeared on his screen.

"Well, well," Lotor chuckled. "The _boy _returns."

"We'll defend this planet to the last man," Bandor said, ignoring his comment, though it angered him to see the Doom Prince once again attacking defenseless people. He knew, through Keith, that Dusty was somewhere nearby, her Lion invisible both to his eyes and his scanners, and that she'd help in any way she could to keep Lotor from either landing or directly attacking the planet below.

"You may just have to do that," Lotor returned through clenched teeth. He was thrown to the deck when another explosion rocked his ship, this time from a direct attack. "What now?"

"Engine compartment is on fire!" a robot said from his position. "Emergency extinguishers are off-line!"

* * *

Dusty circled around Lotor's ship, firing her lasers and missiles as she did. Even though it was now a battle between the two fleets, Dusty helped wherever she could. She was thrown across her control panel when an explosion occurred right behind her. "Oh, shit," she muttered when she looked at her boards and realized that she could be seen. Dusty worked quickly, trying to regain her stealth mode, but nothing happened. "Just perfect," she said, quickly dodging a missile aimed for her. Looking down again, she noticed a red smudge on the panel and on the back of her right had where she had rubbed her left eyebrow.

Missiles came at her from all directions. She managed to dodge a few of them, but the rest either slammed into her or exploded near her. Her lion was tossed from one explosion to another and it was all she could do to keep from being thrown out of her seat. One explosion threw her across her control panel again, this time knocking her unconscious moments before her Lion lost power and hung drifting in space.

* * *

Bandor watched as the Brown Lion was hit again and again. Clenching a fist on the armrest of his command chair, he ordered a squad of the smaller ships to take up defensive positions around it. A quick scan showed that Dusty was still alive in the cockpit, but only barely. If the Brown Lion sustained more damage, she wouldn't last much longer. His ship shuddered as a missile exploded perilously close, but his men took it in stride and kept fighting.

What felt like moments later, he realized that the Doom Fleet was retreating, leaving the planet unmolested this time. Glancing down at his scanners, he noticed the Brown Lion was nowhere to be found. "Where's Brown Lion?" he asked a nearby technician, who glanced at his displays before typing a few commands.

"I'm afraid I lost it in the confusion, Sire," he answered, shaking his head in true regret of his error. "I can ask the other crews. Maybe they know what happened to it."

"Do that," he said, feeling his gut clench with nerves. "We've got to know what happened to Dusty."

"Right away, Sire."

* * *

**Planet Doom: Dungeons**

Dusty woke in a dark cell, her hands manacled in front of her and chained to the wall. Her right arm, from wrist to elbow, felt like it had been replaced with a hot poker and there was a painful knot on the back of her head. She remembered being bounced around like a piece of popcorn in a hopper, but nothing much after that. Hearing a guard march passed her cell, she guessed that she was on Doom, somewhere in the dungeons.

For the moment, she didn't care where she was. She was alive for now, and that was enough. Her eyes closed, pulled down by exhaustion. Her last waking thought was for the people of Arus, and whether or not Doctor Gorma had been able to get the cure out in time.

* * *

**Arus: Castle of Lions**

Thanks to both Dusty and Doctor Gorma, the people of Arus were slowly recovering. The death toll was heavy, but it could have been much worse if they hadn't done everything they had. As it was, there were more than enough people who survived, and they all knew of how hard both of them had worked to save as many as they could, knowing they wouldn't be able to save everyone. They knew that Dusty had disappeared defending Arus from Lotor and his fleet, and speculated on what might have happened to her. Bandor's fleet had remained for a week, keeping watch around Arus, but he had learned nothing of Dusty's whereabouts from any of his crews. Everyone had lost track of Brown Lion in the chaos of battle and had no idea of had happened to it after that.

Bandor, Romelle and Sven had volunteered to help in the search, but the Voltron Force declined, saying that they would find her, or Dusty would come back on her own. Though slaves and prisoners escaped from the dungeons of Doom all the time, few made it out of the system before either being captured or shot down, and the situation looked bleak for Dusty and Brown Lion.

* * *

**Planet Doom: Dungeons**

**Three weeks later**

Dusty was tossed, half conscious, back into a cell. She'd been beaten for trying to escape, for the third time. Even though she'd been even closer to her Lion than she'd been the other two times, she'd been caught by a lucky guard and whipped by Lotor himself. He'd only stopped when he realized that she wasn't going to beg for mercy and had broken her arm again and three ribs for her insolence. Orders were given that her injuries were to be left untended, and that she would be placed in an isolation cell to await her fate, whatever that might be.

Sitting up slowly, mindful of her ribs and her broken arm, she knew that in the cold, dank cell that she would get terribly ill if she didn't escape soon. Begging for mercy wasn't her style, and totally against her honor code, so she didn't give it a thought. Gingerly feeling her wrist with her uninjured hand, she realized that the bones hadn't moved too far out of place. She took off what little remained of her shirt and used her teeth to tear it into strips to hold her wrist immobile. Wrapping her hand around her ankle, she sat slowly back, feeling the break with her other hand until she had aligned the bones once more. Working quickly, she tied the strips around her wrist, again using her teeth to help secure the last knot.

Her jumpsuit hadn't fared much better than her shirt in the weeks since her capture, and wouldn't offer much protection from the cold stone floor, but it was better than nothing. Crossing her legs to sit Indian style, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply and evenly, knowing her time was limited, but she had to reach one of them before they came for her again. Lotor's mood wouldn't last long, if she knew anything about him, and then he'd be back.

* * *

**Arus: Castle of Lions **

**Control Room**

Keith was on the graveyard shift, but he didn't mind. The castle was quiet, the way he liked it. He knew, from experience, that nighttime attacks were a real possibility, so he and the others took turns on the late shift. Turning a page in his latest book, a story of an immortal man who overthrew impossible odds to save the woman he loved, he felt a gentle but insistent tug on his mind. _Dusty?_ he asked cautiously, ready to block an invasion at a moment's notice.

_Keith, I didn't think you'd be up at this time of the night,_ she replied teasingly, but he could hear the weariness and pain in her voice. She tried to hide it, and she was good at it, though some of it still leaked through.

_Graveyard shift,_ he answered with a shrug. _Where are you? We've been looking everywhere for you._

_I'm in the dungeons of Doom,_ she said, wincing at the pain in her back and ribs. _I'm all right, for the moment. Is everyone all right?_

_Almost everyone made it, thanks to you and Doctor Gorma,_ he told her, trying to sound reassuring. _Don't worry about that, now. We need to think of way to get you out of there._

_I've already got that covered,_ she stated, and now there was a wicked note in her voice that made him chuckle. _I'll send a message as soon as I'm well enough away from Doom._

_Be careful, Dusty. You know Lotor doesn't like it when people escape from the dungeons._

_It's bad for the ruthless ruler image, I know, Keith. I'll be out and away before he even notices that I'm gone._

_Just how do you plan on doing that?_

_That's my secret. I'll see all of you soon._

_Dusty,_ he called, but she'd broken the connection between them. "Damn it," he muttered, pushing a hand through his hair. He stood to pace behind the command chair for a moment, wondering if he should tell the others that she'd made contact. Deciding to wait until morning, he sat back down and went back to his watch, but left the book lying propped open on the arm of the command chair.

* * *

**Planet Doom**

Getting into places she wasn't wanted or allowed was a specialty of Dusty's, as well as a skill she'd honed during the three years she'd been a part of the resistance on Kimaine. However, getting back out of those places was often harder than getting in, and this time she'd be doing it injured, quite possibly leaving a blood trail behind her from the reopened wounds on her back. Glancing back, she didn't see any blood, but it could be attributed to the fact that the floors were a deep green, almost black with the lack of light. It made it easier for sneaking out, that was true, but it also made it easier for someone to sneak up on her.

Straining her senses, she knew the hallway was empty ahead and behind her, but still moved as quickly as her healing ribs would allow, taking cover in alcoves behind statues of long dead Drule rulers, keeping to the deeper shadows when she could. She refused to be caught again, and that only made her more cautious as she slowly but surely made her way to where she knew her Lion was being stored.

Finally, she reached the hangar where her Lion rested on its belly, an enormous cat just waiting for a mouse to run by. She could see it, the bright lights making her squint as her eyes adjusted. Once they had, she could see that the hangar was empty of guards, making her suspicious, but she had to take the opportunity while it presented itself. Keeping as low as she could, ducking behind other ships awaiting repair, she crossed the hangar and climbed slowly, painfully into the cockpit.

As far as she could tell, the Lion hadn't been touched and would need major repairs before it was back in shape to fight. For now, all it had to do was get her off the planet and somewhere at least close to Arus. Untwisting her hair, she pulled the key from the tangled mass and powered up the Lion. A quick check warned her that the stealth module was barely operational, the engines were working at half capacity, and that the computer needed to be fixed before making any long distance trips. That made things a little more difficult, but she could handle it.

Not caring if she set the alarms off at this point, she brought the Lion to its feet and using the last of her missiles, blew a hole in the hangar door large enough for her to slip through. She was out and on her way before the smoke cleared from the resulting explosion. Dusty knew she wouldn't get far, she could only hope that she made it just far enough.

* * *

**AN:** Whew! What a chapter. Again, I'm so sorry for how long it took to get this one posted. Other stories and life interfered for a time, but I finally took some time to work on this one. I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. On to the next chapter!


	4. Crash and Repairs

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it, never have and never will. I'm only writing about what I enjoy, and am making no money off of this. The only characters that I own are Dusty, Brown Lion, and any other new characters that might pop up. The rest aren't mine.

**AN:** Well, it's a new chapter, sort of, and I'm hoping this one won't take as long as the last to post. We'll all just have to see, won't we?

* * *

**Arus: Castle of Lions**

"What's up, Coran?" Keith asked, coming to a stop behind his chair. The alarms had sounded, but the aging diplomat had silenced them when he realized whom the message was coming from.

"I've just received a message from Dusty," he replied, quickly bringing up the text so they could read it over his shoulder. "She escaped from planet Doom, but her lion is damaged and she's going to have to land somewhere to make repairs."

"Lotor won't be far behind her," Lance observed from behind Keith.

"So what do we do?" Allura wondered, a worried frown on her face.

"We wait and find out where she lands," Keith told them after a few moments of quick thought, "then we go get her. With her lion in need of repairs, she's going to be in trouble when Lotor and his robots show up."

"We don't know where she is, though," Hunk said, pushing a hand through his hair, "or how badly her Lion's damaged."

"All we can do is wait for her to repair her communicator, Hunk," Coran answered, his eyes brimming with concern for the downed pilot. "Her guidance computer is down, so even _she_ doesn't know where she is. This message came from a satellite somewhere near Doom, but she might have just bounced it off the satellite to give it enough power to get here." None of them liked it, but all there was for them to do was wait for Dusty to contact them again.

* * *

**Unknown Planet**

_Damn it,_ Dusty thought as the wiring sparked inches from her face. _Something is backwards in here somewhere._ She shifted her position to get a better view of the wires. Looking over them, she noticed her obvious mistake: she had put the wrong wire in the wrong place. Shaking her head, she corrected it, and resolved not to make the same mistake twice. _ Hope it didn't short everything out._

She breathed a sigh of relief when, after a couple of hiccups, power hummed and part of the control boards lit up. An insistently flashing light caught her attention. Pressing the button beneath it, Dusty opened the communications channel. She remained silent and went back to her repairs. "Dusty, are you there?" Allura called, concern easy to hear in her tone. Dusty banged her head on the bulkhead in surprise. "Are you all right?"

"I was until just a second ago," she replied, rubbing the back of her head, annoyed with herself. She almost laughed when she heard the collective cheer rise from the other end.

"What happened? We've been trying to reach you for days," Allura said after everyone had settled down.

"Nothing worked in this hunk of space junk until a few minutes ago," she answered, slamming her left palm down on an actuator, thoroughly annoyed with the thing. She wiped the sweat off her brow and climbed back under the bulkhead to continue her repairs.

"That bad?" Hunk asked, concerned.

"And worse," she told him, bypassing a fried circuit. She bit back a curse as she got a little jolt.

"Where are you?" This time it was Keith.

"I have no idea," she replied, shaking her hand. _Wrong one,_ she thought, shaking her head in exasperation. "You might be able to establish a connection trace. My guidance computer still isn't working right, but I'm working on it now." Climbing out for a moment, she pressed the button that activated the distress beacon. "Dusty out," she said and shut down communications.

The trace would be to the right planet, but the exact position would be off by a few miles. She had set up a relay point a few miles away from where she landed in case Lotor was waiting for her to communicate with the rest of the Force. Deciding not to take any chances with her _only_ piece of working hardware, she climbed out of her lion and made her way to the relay. She quickly dismantled it and put it back in its knapsack. She took it back to her lion and stowed it.

About half an hour later, when she finally got the other half of her control board working without shorting the other side, her scanners started beeping. Banging her head as she sat up, she muttered a string of curses guaranteed make a sailor blush. Rubbing her forehead, Dusty checked her sensors. _Too many ships to be the team,_ she thought, looking over her other instruments. _Might be Lotor._ Just in case, she shut everything down, praying it would come back on later, and activated the camouflage net she had spent almost an hour dragging over her Lion when she'd landed yesterday.

* * *

"Are you _certain_ she's here, old witch?" Lotor demanded when they landed in an empty valley. "There's nothing here but trees, squirrels and my ships."

"She _is_ here, Sire," she replied, already working her dark magic. "We just have to find her. Remember that she made that transmission almost an hour ago. She could be long gone by now." Haggar _knew_ Dusty was there, but she was enjoying his frustration at the moment. Lotor ordered his robots to conduct a ten-mile search of the area surrounding their landing zone, adding that they were to leave no stone unturned, no possible hiding place unsearched.

Stretching her senses, Haggar could feel that Dusty was close by, but something about the planet was affecting her powers and she was unable to pinpoint her exact location. If she kept working on it, she'd be able to track her down, but it would take time she knew they didn't have. Dusty was up to something, and it irritated the witch that she didn't know what it was.

It soon grew too dark for the search to be successful, so Lotor called the robots back, telling them that they would begin again at dawn.

* * *

Dusty worked quickly but quietly, setting up the explosives. With the ships this close together, one explosion would cause a chain reaction. Just to be sure, she set up charges on every third ship. It was the middle of the night and this planet had no moon to cast any light. After setting the last charge, she crept into the forest, stopping a good distance away. Holding the detonator in her left hand, she pressed the button.

She ducked behind a tree as the explosives went off one after the other. The ships in between them exploded. All of them, except for one. It was farther away from the others than she thought and it didn't explode. _Damn it!_ That meant that Lotor could still leave.

A beep at her belt let her know Arus was calling. She groaned as she made her way back to her lion. Once there, she brought the Lion to half power, knowing that the disturbance she'd caused would keep Lotor busy for a while. "Dusty here," she panted, trying to catch her breath.

"Are you all right?" Lance asked, concern in his tone.

"For now."

"What's going on?" Keith interjected.

"Lotor got here before you," she answered, "wherever_ here_ is."

"You're on the planet Konicov," Allura told her, determination turning her usually gentle voice to steel. "We're on the way. Lay low as long as you can."

"You got it, Princess," Dusty replied, and powered down once more. She wouldn't have risked blowing up the ships if she could have helped it, but she'd felt Haggar searching for her, and had come up with a plan that was certain to distract her from getting closer. She hadn't come this far only to be caught again, not when she was close to getting the Lion home.

* * *

"I want to know who's responsible for this!" Lotor roared at his remaining crew members, the flames from the still burning debris casting flickering shadows over his face, making him look even more fierce than usual. Even as he demanded an answer, he was sure he already knew just who was responsible for it.

"No one saw anything, Sire," replied one of the robots, the mechanical voice completely devoid of apology.

"Raven," he growled, vibrating with rage at this latest attack. "How did she manage to blow up all but one of our ships?"

"We don't know, Sire," answered the same robot, looking straight ahead but seeing nothing. He knew better than to contradict Lotor in his present mood.

"My Prince," Haggar interjected, sensing the anger in his aura, "at least we still have one ship. We can leave this place and try again another day."

"She might have won the battle, but she'll lose the war," Lotor vowed to himself, before issuing orders that the remaining robots were to board the last ship. They would return to Doom and work on another plan to finally remove that irritating woman from the universe once and for all.

* * *

**Arus: Castle of Lions**

** A few weeks later**

Lance found Dusty in the Brown Lion, checking over both the repairs she'd made and the work the castle technicians had done. "Having fun yet?" he asked, watching her climb out from under a bulkhead, a flashlight in one hand and a wrench in the other. "I thought I might find you here." Dusty said nothing but shrugged as if it was to be expected. "Not much for talking today, are you?" She shook her head, frowning slightly. "What is it?"

"Can't you feel it?" she asked, her voice low, as if she was afraid of being overheard. He shook his head slowly. "Something isn't right in here."

"What do you mean?" he asked, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

"I'm not sure," she replied, her voice sounding odd, "but something isn't right. I just can't tell exactly what that is." She shook her head again, dismissing the feeling. _Something is going to happen, _Dusty thought to herself, _something bad. I'm not sure what is or where, but it _will _happen._

"Dusty, are you ok?" Lance asked, looking at her with concern.

"Yeah," she replied, sounding distracted. "I'm fine." He nodded, but he didn't believe her, unsure of what it was that made him think that she was hiding something. Knowing better than to press the issue, he left her there, trying to puzzle it out for himself. Now that she mentioned, something _was_ off, but he wasn't able to pin it down any more than Dusty had been.

* * *

**Planet Doom: Haggar's Laboratory**

"Are you kidding me, Haggar?" Zarkon asked incredulously. "A dragon?"

"Yes, Sire," she replied, hiding her exasperation easily. She was too used to his disbelief when it came to a plan of hers, but that didn't mean that it didn't get annoying every now and again. "A dragon is the last thing that they're expecting."

"Show me this _dragon, _Haggar," Zarkon laughed and followed her to her lab. "Where is this fierce and mighty creature?"

"There, in the corner, Sire," she replied, pointing. A dark corner of her lab lit dimly to reveal a large green creature sleeping in a ball with its nose under its tail. "M'Gama," Haggar called quietly. The dragon opened one yellow eye and gave them a disdainful look before closing it again.

"When can he go to Arus?" Zarkon asked, knowing just where she'd gotten the dragon. He was impressed that she'd been able to make it happen, and wondered if it really would work.

"He can be ready within the hour, Sire," she answered, cackling as her cat rubbed himself against her ankle.

"Send him, Haggar," Zarkon ordered, his yellow eyes glinting maliciously. "He's to spare nothing, you understand?"

"Yes, Sire," she replied with a deep bow, making preparations as soon as the king swept out of her lab. "Wake, M'Gama." The dragon uncurled from his ball and stretched. When he stood, Haggar walked as close to him as she dared. Dragons were testy under the best of circumstances, but she was taking no chances with this one. Waving her cane, she said, "This shield and armor will protect you, my pet. Nothing will penetrate them and your axe will cut through Voltron with ease." As she spoke, golden armor and a silver battleaxe appeared.

The dragon breathed out orange licks of flame as he picked up the axe and swung it a couple of times to test its weight. The armor on his back didn't hamper the motion of his wings. "Into the space coffin, M'Gama," Haggar said, motioning to one a few feet away with her cane. Once he was inside, she closed the lid and with a roar, the dragon was off to wreak havoc on planet Arus.

* * *

**Planet Arus: Castle of Lions**

_The gryphon fought the familiar looking green dragon in golden armor, sure she'd seen the dragon before somewhere. They both roared in pain as they landed blows on each other, not all of them physical. Orange and blue flames met in midair as they continued the fight, each unwilling to give ground, fighting with everything they had, one to save lives, the other to destroy them . . ._

Dusty started awake from her dream, the sheets tangled around her legs and drenched in sweat. Breathing hard, she untangled her legs and got out of bed to open the window. She took a deep breath of the cool night air. Her dreams were usually of the future, but this was more like a nightmare. _ Please, don't let this one come true, _she prayed fervently, but she had a feeling that this one would. Dusty shook her head, trying to dismiss it, but this time the feeling wouldn't be banished. The event she'd witnessed would come to be whether she wanted it to or not.

If this one came true, all of the Voltron Force was in danger. Too restless to go back to sleep, she pulled on a long shirt and left her room and prowled the castle halls, eventually making her way to the roof. She knew that Lance was behind her, but couldn't drum up the energy to care. If she had to tell someone about the dream, she would've picked him, but would have preferred to do it on her own, not because he came sneaking after her.

Finally reaching her destination, the roof, she paced it, Lance wisely staying out of her way. Every time he opened his mouth to ask what was bothering her, she gave him a glare that he'd only gotten from Keith. Dusty wore the same blank mask he did and was just as silent about personal feelings as he was. She finally sat down with a weary sigh, shoving a hand through her tangled hair. "Want to talk about it?" he asked after letting the silence stretch for another few minutes.

"Not really," she answered, not surprising him in the least. Recently, Dusty only talked when she wanted to, which wasn't often, and if she wasn't in her Lion making repairs, she could usually be found in the garden or on the roof, pacing or just staring off into space for hours.

"Why not?" She shrugged indifferently.

"You wouldn't believe me," she said, not looking at him, but out at the stars that dotted the black velvet night like diamonds.

"Try me."

"All right, but I warned you," she replied, shrugging one shoulder again. Dusty looked at him, her face completely serious. "Laugh and I'll knock you off the roof."

"I won't," he said, wondering what she was going to say.

"Promise," she prompted, a frown in her eyes. When he did, she said, "A dragon is coming to Arus." Lance found it hard, but he kept his word not to laugh. Besides, she might have actually thrown him off the roof if he had.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, keeping a straight face with an effort. She knew he was trying not to laugh, and wasn't mad at him for it. She was starting to think she was losing her mind, anyway, so why not?

"A dream," she said, looking away from him. Even though he tried to get her to explain that a little more, she wouldn't say anything else.

* * *

Watching dispassionately as buildings burned below him, M'Gama was quickly growing bored with destroying villages and watching the people flee in fear. He longed for combat, the urge beating in his blood like a drum until he thought he'd go mad. Sensing something approaching, he hovered in place until he could get a clearer fix on whomever or whatever was coming his way. He growled, low and deep in his throat, when he realized just who it was, before turning to head for the desert, not wanting anything to hamper his need for death and destruction on the one creature he hated above all others.

Mardukkra spread her great white wings, catching an updraft for both altitude and speed as she chased her foe to the desert, following his scent. She'd been too late to stop him from destroying five villages, and she knew he was only heading for the desert to keep their fight from being interrupted. A shield strapped to her right arm, a spear held ready in her left hand, she vowed silently to herself that she wouldn't kill him if she didn't have to, but if he made it necessary, she would do so without hesitation.

Finally, after almost an hour of flying, she spotted him a few miles ahead, banking in a wide turn to face her. Both of them were over sixty feet long, but they could move fast when they had to. His battleaxe ready along with the shield, he hovered in place as Mardukkra bore down on him. He swung his ax, not surprised that when she blocked it didn't pass through her shield and arm. She slashed at him with the long talons on her back feet, scoring a shallow cut on his left rear leg. Hissing in pain, he lunged at the gryphon's neck, missing by an inch when she backwinged out of reach.

Orange flames shot form his mouth, meeting with her blue ones. Mardukkra struck out with her spear, but missed when M'Gama flew upward. He wrapped his tail around the end of her spear and tried to yank it from her grip. Pulling back, she managed to catch a part of his tail as he let go. The end of his tail spurted blood as the piece fell to the sand below. As quickly as it was gone, it grew back.

_Nice try, _Gryphon, M'Gama said laughing. _You'll have to do better than that to get the best of me._

_Funny, _she replied without humor. _I think I'm doing pretty good as it stands, _Dragon. She blocked his fire with her shield. He swung with his ax again and she blocked with her spear, feeling it vibrate with the force of the impact. She knew she was in for the toughest fight of her life against him, and refused to give up without trying to reach the man she knew was inside the dragon.

* * *

**Castle of Lions: Control Room**

"Where's Dusty?" Lance asked as he rushed into the control room with the others, the blaring alarms bringing all of them together once again.

"I haven't seen her all day," Pidge replied, looking up at the destruction on the screen.

"Her Lion's still here," Coran said, a quick check revealing that it was still in the hangar being repaired. "She can't have gone far."

"What I want to know is what caused all that," Keith interrupted, his eyes smoldering with barely suppressed anger. "It can't be Zarkon or Lotor. We would have known by now."

"Reports are coming in that a green dragon with gold armor was seen flying above the village before and after the attacks," Coran replied, reading quickly through the messages as they came in. "It suddenly stopped and headed for the desert."

"What's out there?"

"Nothing, just sand and desert rats," Hunk answered, as he headed for a separate console to bring up a satellite image of the desert. "There it is," he called to the others, pointing at the screen. "It's fighting what looks like another dragon."

"Dusty was right," Lance said to himself, so quietly that he didn't think anyone would hear him, but Keith did.

"What do you mean?"

"Dusty told me that she knew the dragon was coming," he replied, looking at the larger screen that now had images from the desert on it. "She said that she had a dream about it, but when I asked for more details, she wouldn't say anything else."

"She said there was just one?"

"That's it. Just the one dragon."

"Then what's that?"

"Let's go find out."

* * *

**AN:** Things are heating up once again, folks! Let's see how long this streak lasts! I removed a few parts, and shifted others around, mostly because as I was reading over the original, I realized that they don't fit or don't lead anywhere anymore. So they're gone, but not forgotten.


	5. Mythical Beasts Fight!

**Disclaimer:** I've been through this enough times that I shouldn't have to type it out anymore. However, seeing as I'm still writing fanfiction, I have to include the legal stuff so I don't get into trouble. I don't own it, never have and never will. Happy now?

**AN:** Whew! That was a great chapter. Yay, me for getting it done in less than a month! That doesn't mean I didn't put a lot of thought into it, just that the Muse struck and I had to run with it as long as she hung around. Thanks, Muse, and there's a dark chocolate bar in your future!

* * *

**Arus: Over the Desert**

"Do you see what I see?" Hunk wondered, awe in his voice, wanting to be sure what he saw was real.

"Is that what I think it is?" Pidge took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before putting them back on. The mythical beasts didn't disappear, and only became clearer the closer they got to the battle that was raging about a mile in front of them.

"It's Mardukkra," Allura whispered, looking at the immense white gryffon with silver armor.

"Who?" Lance asked, glancing over at her as she flew opposite him behind Keith.

"Mardukkra," she replied, "from an ancient legend. She protected Arus from evil long ago. No one has seen her in almost five centuries." Allura gasped when the gryffon spoke into her mind, not noticing that the others had essentially the same reaction.

_I am Mardukkra, _she said, _but not the one from your legend. Stay away from here if you value your lives. _ Then she fell silent. Mardukkra flew upward, her silver armor glistening in the sun, blinding the dragon below her. She knocked his ax out of his hand, his shield soon following it to the desert sand below. _Do you yield? _she growled at him, her spear ready to throw.

_Never, _he hissed in reply. _Shed your armor and drop your weapons. I'll shed mine and we'll continue our battle. Do you agree?_

After a few moments she replied, _I agree. To the death, then?_

_To the death, _he answered. Both M'Gama and Mardukkra landed, shed their armor and took to the sky again. After a moment to get used to the increased mobility of reduced weight, they began the battle again. The Voltron Force watched, helpless to intervene, as the dragon and gryffon bit, clawed, slashed and shot flames at each other. Mardukkra roared in pain when M'Gama slashed her wing. White feathers and blood fell like rain for a moment before the cut healed, but her wing was weak for an instant too long. M'Gama grabbed her and was going for her throat when she reached up a hand and grabbed his neck near his head. Both flapped their wings furiously to stay in the air.

Hissing, shooting flames, and roaring they fell to ground with a crash that shook the earth. They backed away from each other for a moment, blood dripping from numerous wounds before they healed. It was clear that neither would yield until one or both of them were dead. _Don't make me kill you, Matthew, _Mardukkra said, knowing his human name would get his attention. _You are one of my friends. Why are you doing this?_

_When you left, _Mardukkra, he replied, sneering on her name, _Zarkon decided that those of us already on Planet Doom were enough and had the planet blown up. My whole family was still on it, working in the mines when it happened._ He sprang at her, but she flew upward. He passed beneath her, and as she landed behind him, he got a face full of sand.

_If I'd known what was going to happen, I wouldn't have done it and you know it, _she told him as he shook his head to clear his eyes of grit. _After my father died, your parents took me in and treated me like of their own. I would never have hurt my family intentionally and you _know _that._ She leapt as he sprang at her again. _Please, stop now, Matthew._

_Never,_ he hissed at her. When he leapt at her this time, she waited, balanced on her rear legs. His leap was right at her chest and she was knocked over by the force of his fury. His teeth were reaching for her now vulnerable throat. Grabbing hold of his neck just below his head again, she managed to keep him from his goal. She roared in pain and fury when his slashing claws opened a gash in her belly and another on her neck. Using her free hand, she punched him in the stomach.

His breath whooshed out in a burst of fire, which almost burned her ear. She tossed him off of her and he lay on the ground for a moment, stunned. Slowly, painfully, she got to her feet and stood, sides heaving and her wings drooping as the gashes slowly healed. Matthew got to his feet, his own sides heaving as he fought to get air into his aching lungs.

Dusty looked up at Matthew, her eyes burning with unshedable tears and questions. He nodded confirmation and she looked down again. _You _know_ that I wouldn't have left if I had known that they would do something like that,_ she told him, head hanging in despair.

_I know, Ishtari,_ he replied, using the name that only the two of them knew.

_So why are you here? _she asked bitterly, looking up at him once more. He looked steadily at her.

_I was sent here to destroy Arus and anything else that stood in my way,_ he replied, using the monotone she knew so well that meant he was trying to hide his emotions. _And if that meant you . . ._ He trailed off, knowing she could figure out the rest. She looked down at again, seeing both her blood and his staining the sand.

_Then, do it, _she told him, her heart breaking for the family she would never see again. _Destroy me, Sirsiru._

_I can't._ He bit the words out, ashamed that he had been so blinded by grief and anger that he had almost killed his best friend and the only family he had left. _You're all I have left, now._ She shook her head in violent denial, before crouching to spring into the sky. Her body, weakened by blood loss and shock, crashed back to the ground. Mardukkra disappeared, and Dusty slowly sat up, burying her face in her knees. The Lions landed behind her, but she didn't notice as she struggled to take in the fact that so many of her people were gone forever, most of all her adoptive family.

She knew that Zarkon had destroyed Kimaine, but not before he'd stripped it of every valuable resource, her people among them. What she hadn't known was that her family and many of her friends were still there when he'd done it. "I'm so sorry, Sirsiru," she whispered when she sensed him in front of her, knowing without looking up that he'd shed the dragon for the man, the friend, she'd known for so long.

"Nothing would have been different if you'd been there, Dusty," he answered, crouching in front of her, "except that you'd be dead, too."

"I could have done _something_," she argued, not lifting her head. "I'm such a coward."

"No, you're not," Keith said from behind her, and she knew that the others were right behind him. "You're one of the bravest women I've ever met." She shook her head, rubbing her teary eyes on her knees.

"How many girls, at fifteen and who've just lost their father, would become a rebel leader to save her people from slavery?" Matthew asked, putting one hand under her chin so he could look into her eyes. "That's a brave thing for anyone to do, not something a coward would even think of doing."

"Hey, it's not your fault that Zarkon and Lotor are slime," Lance interjected, making her laugh and smile a little through her tears.

"Thanks, Lance," she answered, wiping her eyes with her fingers. "You're right."

* * *

**Planet Doom: Haggar's Laboratory**

"That wretched dragon of yours turned on us, Haggar!" Zarkon thundered, rising from the chair so quickly that it toppled behind him. "He almost had her and the _entire_ Voltron Force, but he didn't destroy them. What use is he?"

"This is only the first part of my plan, Sire," she replied, not looking away from her crystal ball as Zarkon paced off his anger on the opposite side. "The second part will commence after nightfall, when they're lulled into a false sense of security about Matthew."

"How did you know about him and his relationship with that woman?"

"I have my ways, Sire," she cackled, deciding not to mention that she'd scanned all of the incoming prisoners from Kimaine for memories of Dusty, and the more they had of her, the closer she'd looked until she'd found just the right person in Matthew. "She trusts him, and though the others are suspicious, they'll believe Dusty when she says that he's entirely trustworthy."

"Why should they? They've uncovered our spies before."

"They won't be expecting this one, My Liege," she answered, finally looking up as the Voltron Force lifted off and headed back to the castle. "He'll attack in a way they won't be able to counter."

"Very well," the king said with a nod. "Your life is spared . . . for now. I want results before dawn tomorrow, Haggar, or the next time the executioner's axe falls, it will be through _your_ neck."

"As you command, Sire," she agreed, bowing her head as he swept out of her laboratory.

* * *

**Planet Arus: Castle of Lions**

Dusty and Matthew ate their dinner with gusto, needing the energy after the battle over the desert. The others were quiet, each of them lost in their own thoughts as they went over the events of the day. Watching Dusty and Matthew change from a dragon and gryphon was hard enough to take in, but the knowledge hadn't had much time to sink it just yet. Both Kimaines knew they had questions, but were waiting until they had finished eating before asking them. Once the last plate was wiped clean and the last bite swallowed, Pidge spoke up, voicing the question that was on all of their minds. "How can you change shape?"

"Everyone on Kimaine can, Pidge," Dusty answered, looking down the table at him. "It's all a matter of visualization. If you build the picture of the animal in your mind, you can change into it."

"However," Matthew broke in, shooting Dusty a laughing glance, "we only have three forms. One is our human form, the other two forms are hereditary. The dragon is one of mine, and the other is this one." He stood from his chair and closed his eyes, concentrating on the image. In a flash, there was a lion in the dining room, black as pitch but with a fire red mane and emerald green eyes. A moment later, the lion was gone and Matthew sat back down.

"It's a good thing Nanny wasn't in here," Lance commented dryly, "or she might have fainted." Everyone laughed, but it didn't last long.

"What's your other form, Dusty?" Allura asked, turning to face her. Dusty smiled and, half a heartbeat later, there was a white tiger sitting in her chair with deep blue eyes. Not to be outdone by Matthew, she yawned, exposing lethal teeth, before dropping from the chair to wander around the dining room. She allowed herself to stroked and petted before retaking her seat and changing back to her human form.

"Transforming into our other shapes is very draining," Matthew explained as he helped himself to more food, passing the dishes to Dusty so she could eat another helping, too. "Anything bigger than we are isn't easy, which why we don't, as a rule, transform very often."

"It takes practice to get the transformations right," Dusty went on between bites, "and to have it happen quickly. As we get older, it gets harder and harder to transform, so our elders never did unless it was absolutely necessary."

"So is that why Zarkon attacked your planet?" Keith asked, his gaze turned inward as he worked out what he'd been told and what he already knew from previous conversations with Dusty. Some things weren't adding up in his mind, but he wouldn't say anything about them until he'd gotten more time to work them out.

"Yes," she answered with a single nod. "Imagine this: you have a spy, but he can't get into a place because it's too heavily guarded. The only way in a small drain or air vent. If he could turn into a mouse or something only a little bigger, he'd be able to get in. Now, he's only do that if you had something to hold over him: his family, especially his children if he had any."

"That's essentially what Zarkon was doing with our people," Matthew said, picking at his food despite his hunger. "In my case, on the other hand, I had nothing more to lose, and I knew Dusty better than anyone. Haggar kept me locked in my dragon form for weeks until I was too weak with hunger to fight." Dusty put a hand on his, offering comfort and sympathy, but not stopping him from telling his tale. "Dragons are impervious to most magic, but somehow she managed to cast a spell on me that made me attack the villages and Dusty.

"I'm not using it as an excuse or to try and get out of the damage that I caused," he went on quickly, not wanting the others to get a bad impression of him, "but it caused me to do things I wouldn't otherwise have done." He paused to take a deep breath, and looked down at his plate for a moment before going on. "I'd like to offer my services in repairing the villages I destroyed, and helping the people that were hurt."

"I think we can arrange that," Allura said with a small smile. "However, for now, I suggest we all get to bed. Matthew, Nanny has prepared quarters down the hall from Dusty's for you." She stood from the table, and everyone followed her example. "I bid you all good night."

"Good night, Princess," everyone answered, only Keith and Matthew bowing as she left the room with Lance, Hunk, and Pidge on her heels. Keith paused, looking back over his shoulder at both Matthew and Dusty before following the others more slowly out the door, headed for the control room and the watch it was his turn to take.

"What was that about?" Matthew asked Dusty as they stacked the dishes before leaving the room.

"That was his 'I trust you because she does, but I'm not sure about you, yet,' look, Matthew," she replied with a chuckle. "Toe the line, and keep doing it for the next five years, and you'll be all right in the captain's book."

"I see," he murmured as he followed her through the halls to his room. "What are you planning to do now, Dusty?"

"I'm not sure yet, to be honest," she said, shrugging a little. "I like it here, so I might just ask Allura for a job working on the Lions or something." Catching his look, she sighed and pushed a hand through her hair. "I haven't forgotten about our people, Matthew, but I don't think it would be a good idea for me to go to Doom to free them. Among other things, I don't have a ship, and I'm _not_ going to steal one from Doom to get them out. Those things aren't meant for quick get escapes, and the pursuit ships won't have enough room." She sighed again, picturing the cells and the lack of everything, even basic hygiene, that they were forced to endure. "Soon, perhaps, but not now."

"Dusty," he started but topped when she halted in front of his door. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"Yes, you should have," she argued, turning to face him with a resigned sadness in her eyes, "and I can't be angry about that. I only wish I could do more right this minute rather than having to wait for a more opportune moment. Good night, Matthew."

"See you in the morning, Dusty."

* * *

**To Be Continued . . . **

**AN: **Shorter chapter than usual, I know, but it seemed like a good place to stop before I started the next chapter! As always, flames are for toasting marshmallows, not for making good writers. I _will_ accept constructive criticism, however.


	6. Thoughts, Feelings and Pain

**Disclaimer:** Once again, I don't own Voltron and never will. The original characters aren't mine either, I'm just borrowing them to have a little fun. The only characters I _do_ own are Dusty, Brown Lion, and any other characters that aren't included in the original story line. With that absolutely horrendous torture over, let's get back to the story.

* * *

**Planet Arus: Castle of Lions**

Three days later, Dusty couldn't sleep. She wandered into the gardens, knowing that at that time of the night, she'd be alone and more than likely undisturbed for some time. It would give her a chance to settle her thoughts and feelings into a mood more suited for sleep. Seating herself on a bench, she winced at the chill in the stone, but knew it wouldn't stay that way for long. Dusty took a moment to look around at the replanted gardens, knowing if she left Arus, she'd always remember how they'd looked in the silver light of the full moon that night. She closed her eyes, letting the peace and quiet of the garden wash over her, hoping it would help her sleep.

She heard him coming even before he came into view. With a sigh he'd never hear, let alone understand, she straightened and opened her eyes. "Hello, Matthew," she called, turning to face him as he approached, his feet scrunching on the gravel.

"How do you do that?" he asked as he sat down beside her, exasperation coloring his tone as he shoved a hand through his hair.

"Do what?" she returned in her most innocent voice. She'd explained it to him before, but he was stalling, and they both knew it. He wanted to say something, and didn't know quite how to say it or whether he could say it at all, so he was making idle conversation while he worked it out.

"Know who's who even before you see them?"

"You have a very distinctive walk," she replied, looking up at the moon. "You still have a slight limp when you put your left foot down. I still remember when you broke it falling out that tree when you were supposed to be keeping watch."

"You could hear that?" he asked incredulous. She nodded and he whistled in amazement. "What about the others?"

"Keith is quiet by nature, Lance tries to be," she answered after a few moments for thought. "Allura has a quick stride, Hunk you can hear coming a mile away and as for Pidge . . ." she trailed off. "Well, so far, he's been the only one able to sneak up on me." She shook her head in amazement at the feat. "So what brings you out here?"

"You," he said quietly. Dusty was silent, sensing he'd been working up the nerve to say this for three days. "I _did_ blame you when my family died even though I _knew_ that you never would have caused that to happen. You just left, without telling anyone, without telling me, where you were going. I just couldn't believe you wouldn't tell _me_, your best friend. I wanted to hate you, and did for a while, but then I remembered everything you've done and I just couldn't anymore."

"I never meant to hurt you, Matthew," she replied, bringing her gaze back to him now, "or the others, but I had to get Brown Lion back here before it was destroyed forever."

"I understand that, Dusty," he agreed, a slight smile curving his lips, "but it was days after you left that Zarcon ordered Kimaine completely destroyed, not just stripped of all resources and slaves. I didn't know where you were or if you were all right, and then you just popped up in the dungeons like you'd been there the whole time, only I'd been too blind to see you, too wrapped up in my own misery." He paused to take a deep breath before going on.

"Seeing you again snapped me out of it," he told her, looking up at the stars and the shining silver moon, "but it made me angry. How could you have survived when everyone else, our home, was gone? Not long after that, I heard the guards and even other prisoners talking about the fact that you'd escaped out from under Lotor and Zarcon's noses."

"It was a bit more complicated than that, Matthew," she said with a slight smile, "but most of what you heard was probably true."

"That's not the point, Dusty, and you know it," he argued, but went on with his tale instead of starting a fight he knew he couldn't finish. "Anyway, it was only a day or so later when Haggar came into the dungeons. She didn't speak, just looked us all over, and pointed me out to a guard. I was dragged in chains to her laboratory, and the moment the guards left us alone, she started taunting me with your escape." He broke off as things she'd said and he'd thought about Dusty flooded his mind. Dusty, being an Empath, couldn't help but feel the guilt, shame and anger within him, and with himself, but blessedly she said nothing while he fought to master his feelings.

_She knew you were here,_ Haggar had said, stroking her blue cat in her lap, _but she left without giving you a second thought. She's never coming back, you know that, don't you? Dusty never cared about you or your family. If she had, she would have stayed or been here when your planet was destroyed. She's been hiding something from you, Matthew, and she's done it for years. She kept it from everyone she knows, telling no one, but _you_ always suspected something about her, haven't you?_

Dusty closed her eyes, knowing it wouldn't stop the pain she was feeling from him, and from herself, but it would help her focus on helping them both past it. Taking deep, quiet breaths, she calmed herself before helping him still the riot of emotions inside him. She didn't block them from herself, instead giving him the time and calm to do it himself. A few minutes later, he finally looked up from his study of the toes of his boots.

"It wasn't until I changed to M'Gama, thinking to kill her, that the chains she'd had them put on me revealed their true purpose. I was stuck in dragon form, and she didn't stop tormenting me with your betrayal, as she put it, and withheld food and water from me until I was too weak to fight her anymore." His voice thickened for a moment, and after clearing his throat, he went on, " I lost myself in M'Gama for a time, and it wasn't until I was finally able to change back that I understood just what she'd done, and almost made me do to my best friend.

"I'm sorry, Ishtari," he murmured, absently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as it blew gently across her face in the breeze.

"There's nothing to apologize for, Sirsiru," she argued with a slight shake of her head. "Zarcon would have blown up Kimaine whether I was there or not. It wasn't my leaving with Brown Lion that made him do it. He'd gotten what he wanted from us, and he was sending a message to the galaxy that he could, and would, destroy anyone who got in his way. That's what we did for five years, Matthew: we got in the way.

"I'm not saying that it's our fault," she went on hastily, seeing his thoughts turn inward, "because it's not. Yes, we have a part of the responsibility, but only a _very_ small part. The rest belongs to Zarcon, Lotor and those like him. People like him have been making trouble all throughout history, and will keep doing it long after we're gone, simply because of who they are. Nothing will ever be enough, no one will be as clever, cunning or ruthless as they are, and no amount of power will ever make them happy." She shrugged lightly, and looked up at the moon. "Like there will always be people like Zarcon, there will always be people like us, too. We'd risk our lives for what we believe in, and those we love."

"So what you're saying is, is that I shouldn't blame anyone except those responsible," he said, looking up at the moon, too, "then do what I can to defend the people who can't or won't defend themselves and our way of life?"

"Something like that," she replied, jerking one shoulder. "Take the Voltron Force for example. They work hard to keep so many planets safe, but they also know that they can't save everyone. It would be useless to try, and would only demoralize them if they did. They can only give people the tools to defend themselves, and what better tool than hope? If you don't give up hope, you can always fight on another day, taking you one more step toward freedom."

"So the Mighty Dusty is a philosopher at heart," he chuckled, glancing at her, "as well as an optimist."

"I'm also practical, logical, and highly adaptable," she answered with severely wounded dignity. She hadn't expected that helping him overcome his grief and anger would reveal so much about herself, but she probably should have. Matthew had a way about him, one that said that while he could be serious he would much rather laugh away life's troubles, giving them no time to drag him down. They had for a time, and that was completely out of character for him. The circumstances were different than they had been five years ago, or even a few hours ago, and his usual jovial nature was coming back. It wasn't up to full strength yet, but it would be soon. "Breathe a word of that to anyone, Matthew," she threatened, shooting him a look that guaranteed retribution, "and I'll deny it."

"The memory will be it's own reward, Dusty," he answered, still chuckling a little. She yawned, suddenly worn out from the emotional storm they'd just weathered. Dusty wouldn't admit it, at least not aloud, that she was still tired from the battle three days ago. It had taken more out of her than she had to give, and needed her rest, but she wasn't getting it. Brown Lion was almost back in perfect working order, thanks to her and the nearly endless stream of castle technicians. Even though she'd let them work with her, she still did the bulk of the work herself, feeling a little proprietary toward her Lion.

"It's late, and I'm for bed," she said, standing and stretching. Matthew stood as well, and walked with her a little way before he stopped. Glancing over her shoulder at him, she stopped, too. "What is it?" she asked quietly as she walked back to him.

"I . . . don't know how to thank you, Dusty," he answered, pushing a hand through his hair again.

"You don't have to, Matthew," she argued, shaking her head. It wasn't often that he had a serious look on his face, and she paid more attention when he did. He had the look on his face now, and he had her undivided attention.

"I still feel like I should, though," he said, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her neck. "You are one of the most amazing people I've ever known, Dusty, and I just wanted you to know that."

"You're pretty terrific yourself," she replied, unsure what had brought this on. Something was different about him, but she couldn't place what it was. "I don't feel like I did anything special, Matthew." He didn't answer, just tightened his hold. "Matthew," she began, but whatever else she was going to say was lost when sharp pain exploded in her back. Her legs went numb, useless, only his hold on her keeping her upright.

"I'm sorry, Dusty," he whispered, shifting his grip on the knife to drive it deep into her belly this time, though she didn't feel the pain from the blow. He set her gently on the path, the gesture so at odds with what he'd just done leaving her completely shocked and baffled. "I'm so sorry, Ishtari, but I couldn't let you live."

"Matthew," she said, or tried to, her voice coming out as a hoarse whisper.

"Save your strength, and make what peace you can with the Creator," he told her, standing when he heard a step on the path. It was still far off, so he had enough time to finish. He bent once more and pressed a kiss to her lips, before he whispered, "Good bye, Dusty." He turned and ran through a darker part of the garden, leaving her in a growing pool of blood.

"Matt-" she broke off with a cough that rattled her chest and caused blood to fleck her lips. She couldn't hear the crickets anymore, their chirping silenced by the violence of the attack. All she could hear was the labored sound of her own breathing, and the only smells she could make out were the rosebush not far away and the smell of her own blood.

The black hole that had been hovering on the edge of her vision, held at bay by her will alone, finally swallowed her whole.

* * *

Lance wandered the gardens, seeking fresh air before going to bed. He'd taken first watch after dinner, and had just handed it over to Pidge a few minutes ago. Grasping his chance to be alone, he stepped into the moonlit garden, the scents drifting from the blooms teasing his memories of home, and just basked in the peace that might not last as long as he wanted it to. Not much did these days, with Lotor and Zarcon stepping up the attacks on Arus and every other world they controlled, so it seemed like he and the others were always off somewhere, fighting for their lives and the lives that depended on them.

He wasn't complaining, he just wished that he had more opportunities to take in the night scents of a garden, or even get a good night's sleep. He chuckled a little at that, knowing he hadn't had a restful night's sleep since the Academy. Their instructors had been firm believers in being ready at any time, even if you were dead tired, sick, or in some cases, hung over. Lance knew, from experience, that getting out of bed and ready to fight at the first alarm was crucial to saving lives, his own included.

Head down, his hands in his pockets, he wandered down the gravel paths, absently nudging the larger stones to one side of the path where they belonged. Clouds moved in as he walked, signaling a storm, alternately hiding the moon and revealing it. A strange sound brought his head up, his eyes instinctively searching for the source. There was a shape ahead, but he wasn't able to tell what it was in the fading light. It was fairly large, but it wasn't moving. _An animal?_ Lance wondered, drawing closer to the object. He remembered there wasn't anything that size on Arus, at least nowhere near the castle, or able to get over the walls and into the garden.

He was almost upon the shape when he caught the unmistakable scent of blood, as well as the scent of jasmine and . . . engine cleaner. The sound came again, and he dropped to one knee to examine the shape. The clouds shifted, illuminating the gardens once more. He gasped in shock and dismay when he saw it was Dusty, blood slowly pooling beneath her, her chest barely rising and falling with each labored breath she took. Her hands were pressed to her belly, and he gently moved one, revealing the terrible wound beneath. There was another wound on her back, an inch or so under her ribs.

"Oh, Dusty," he whispered, taking off his jacket and folding it under her. Gently, being careful not to hurt her, he rolled her until the wound on her back was pressed against his jacket. She stirred restlessly and moaned softly, but she didn't open her eyes. "Who did this, Dusty?" he asked, quickly checking her for further injuries.

"I don't know," she replied, her voice so soft he almost couldn't hear it over the wind that was building, whispering through the gardens around them. He paused, for one moment shocked to his core, but he went on with his examination. She sensed his hesitation and opened her eyes a little. "He's long gone by now," she went on after a pause to take a deep breath, "and you won't be able to find him." She coughed, bringing up blood.

"Save your strength, Dusty," he told her, reaching out for Keith, knowing he was still awake. He always was, either studying past battles or sending progress reports back to Galaxy Garrison.

_What is it, Lance?_ Keith asked, his full attention turned to his second-in-command immediately. Lance almost never reached out unless it was absolutely necessary, so when he did, he always had Keith's full attention.

_Dusty's been hurt,_ he answered, taking Dusty's wrist to feel her pulse. It was irregular and slow. _I need you to wake Dr. Gorma, if he's not still awake._

_Do you need help getting her inside?_ Keith wanted to know, already getting to his feet to hotfoot it to the infirmary.

_No, you'll have to send a gurney out here,_ he said with a shake of his head. _I don't know how badly she's hurt, so I don't want to risk moving her. Hurry, Keith. Please. I don't know how long she has left._

_I'm on it, Lance. Hang in there._ Keith felt Lance's grim acknowledgment as he ran for the infirmary, almost knocking down several maids in his headlong rush. Telling Dr. Gorma they had an emergency and helping him rush a gurney out to the garden took only a few minutes, but to Lance it felt like an eternity. He wanted to keep her talking, but every time she tried, she started coughing, bringing up more and more blood. Her breathing grew increasingly labored and her pulse was slowing beneath his fingers.

"Hang on, Dusty," he murmured, wiping the blood from her lips. "Dr. Gorma and Keith will be here soon."

_So tired,_ she answered wearily, her voice sounding weak and far away. _Let me sleep._

"Not yet," he argued, shaking his head. "You need to stay awake."

_Can't._

"Yes, you can." He could hear the panic in his voice, but was unable to do anything about it. Something was happening to his heart, only he wasn't sure what it was. It ached, and for no reason he could name, there were tears in his eyes at the thought of losing her. She hadn't been on Arus long, and while she'd come to mean so much to everyone, she'd somehow managed to crawl into a space in his heart that few others had ever occupied before. "You need to hold on just a little longer, Dusty. Try . . . for me."

_I'll . . . try,_ she replied, sounding a little stronger, as if she was drawing strength from somewhere. Her eyes opened a little again, and he could see the question in them. _Stay with me?_

"For as long as I have to, Dusty," he promised, shifting his hand until their fingers laced. He looked up when he heard Dr. Gorma and Keith running for them, the gurney suspended between them because of the gravel. Dr. Gorma dropped to his knees beside Dusty, checking her over much more thoroughly, but just as quickly, than Lance had. He dug into his trauma kit, pulling out an IV bag of fluids and some bandages. Fluids would help stabilize Dusty until she got into surgery, and with a quick and steady hand, he bandaged the wound in her back and in her abdomen.

"We need to get her inside, now," he announced, getting to his feet. "Lance, lift her carefully onto the gurney. Keith, I'm going ahead to prepare the surgery, so I'll need you and Lance to bring her in."

"Yes, Doctor," they answered together, moving quickly to do as he ordered as he ran back inside. Lifting Dusty, Lance blanched when he saw the pool of blood that had been mostly hidden by her body. He placed her on the gurney, strapped her down so she wouldn't fall off on their rush to surgery, and helped Keith lift it until they were inside once more.

Both of them knew they'd never run faster in their lives, and the only thing that mattered now was getting Dusty to the operating room before it was too late.

* * *

**Planet Doom: Haggar's Laboratory**

"I can't believe it," Zarcon said as they watched the scene unfold in the crystal ball. Haggar chuckled, stroking her blue cat. It was probably her best piece of work yet, and there was more to come, though they would probably never see it.

"I knew Dusty would never suspect Matthew, Your Majesty," she replied, keeping her elation to herself for the moment, "and he'd be the perfect assassin. All it took was a little . . . persuasion on my part. The rest of it was his own doubts and suspicions."

"That was genius, Haggar," Lotor admitted, watching Keith and Lance rush Dusty inside. He knew it would be in vain, but the taste of victory over that meddlesome female was still sweet. "What will Matthew do now that he's finished with her?"

"Telling you that would spoil the surprise, My Prince." No matter what they said or threatened, she refused to say more on that particular subject. "Now would be the time to send the robeast, Sire," she said to Zarcon, looking down at the cat in her lap. "They're distracted with Dusty, and won't be expecting an attack."

"Very well, Haggar," he answered, nodding once. "Go ahead, and work your magic."

"As you wish, Sire," she murmured, bowing her head as he and Lotor strode out. "Things are going to get _very_ interesting on Arus tonight, my pet. I only wish I could see it in person."

* * *

**To be continued . . . **


	7. Attacks and Sorrow

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Voltron, and never have. It's not mine, even though I wish it were sometimes. (Sigh) Anyway, here's another chapter, and I hope you enjoy the story.

**AN:** Just so everyone knows, I haven't written a robeast battle in a LONG time, so if it seems a little off, that's why. I'll do my best with it, and we'll all just have to see what happens at the end of it. Wish me luck!

* * *

**Planet Arus: Castle of Lions**

When the attack alarms went off a few minutes after they'd gotten Dusty to the infirmary, Lance didn't have the energy to curse, and barely had enough to sigh. "I know you want to stay, Lance," Keith said sympathetically, "but we need you. Dr. Gorma might have news for us when we get back."

"All right," he answered, leaving the infirmary with one last look at the doors. "Let's get this over with." He followed Keith to the control room, noticing that Coran had already raised the elevator, and Pidge, Hunk and Allura were waiting for them. A robeast must be attacking somewhere, and they had to get there quickly before it caused too much damage.

"Let's go, team," Keith commanded, heaving an internal sigh of his own. Along the way, he and Lance had decided to keep Dusty's injuries from the others, not wanting to distract them in battle. They'd find out soon enough, but for now, they were keeping it to themselves.

"Right behind you," Allura replied, running for the elevator with her teammates. "It won't be easy."

"It never is, Princess," Hunk groused sourly, knowing that things could quickly go from bad to worse and frequently did.

"Knock off the chatter, guys," Keith ordered as they shot down the tubes for their Lions. "We've got work to do."

"Good luck, everyone," Coran said over the comm, "and be careful." They lifted off, flying as quickly as possible to where the robeast was wreaking havoc.

"Aren't we always?" Pidge asked rhetorically, watching the landscaped pass rapidly under them. A sudden blip on his screen made him blink before he rubbed his eyes. "Keith, we've got company."

"What kind of company, Pidge?" Allura asked, the robeast appearing on her screen as they got close to the village. "Doom ships? Lotor?"

"Brown Lion's coming up fast on our six."

"What!"

"How is that possible?"

"Beats me, but it's there," Pidge assured them, wondering the same thing as the others. They'd left Dusty behind, seriously injured and in surgery, so how could she be flying Brown Lion? If she wasn't in it, who was and why?

"Pilot, identify yourself," Keith demanded, obviously not wanting to take any chances that the pilot could turn on them, but there was no reply. "Identify yourself, or we will shoot you down."

_You would do that to Brown Lion, Keith?_ Lance asked into his mind alone.

_If I had to, Lance,_ Keith answered, not liking it any more than Lance did. _Dusty wouldn't want it to fall into enemy hands after everything she went through to get it here._

_Leave it alone, Keith,_ Dusty broke in, her voice weak and far away. _There's not going to be an answer and the pilot isn't going to hurt anyone, other than the robeast. This once, I'm asking you to trust me._

_As you wish, Dusty,_ Keith replied, his resolve clear. If whomever was flying Brown Lion turned out to be hostile, he would shoot it down without hesitation. Lance knew it, and though it would prod at his conscience, he would do it, too. The coming battle would be hard enough, only to face destroying Dusty's Lion if something happened. "Here we go, team," Keith said to the others as they reached the outskirts of the village and landed to get a look at the robeast. As usual, it was large and ugly, but there seemed to be something different about this robeast that separated it from the ones that had come before it. Keith wondered about it, but since he couldn't pin down exactly what it was, he would have to figure it out as they went along. A sword was strapped across it's back, and had wicked claws on it's hands and feet.

After a quick warning to stay alert, they started harrying the robeast, trying to draw it away from the village to minimize the damage as much as possible. It followed, catching Hunk as he darted in and then tossing him away as if he weighed nothing at all. Shaking off the shock of landing flat on his back, Hunk got up to continue the fight, only to be sent flying again when Allura crashed into him, sent head over tail by a forceful kick.

"Something's different about this robeast," Pidge muttered, righting his Lion after a punch sent him flying. "It seems like we fought one like him before, I just can't remember where."

"It sure does," Lance replied, dropping quickly to avoid a missile that had been deflected right back at him. "I hope someone remembers before it's too late." Brown Lion darted in, scoring a hit to the robeast's left leg before being roughly shaken off. The pilot, whoever it was, recovered quickly, and made a move for the other leg, hoping to hobble it. The robeast, obviously expecting such a maneuver, braced for the attack, but it didn't come from the expected direction. Keith used the distraction of Brown Lion to launch his own attack, striking the robeast in the back, sending it face-first into the ground. With a roar, the robeast surged to it's feet as Keith jumped to safety, one leg oozing a greenish blood from Brown Lion's first attack.

Brown Lion darted in again, seizing one of the robeast's arms at the elbow and holding tight, despite all attempts to be shaken loose. It gave the others a chance to attack, further wounding the creature, but it always recovered and attacked again, eating away at their endurance. Nothing they tried seemed to stun it for more than a moment or two, or it dodged their attacks completely. It was almost as if it was anticipating their moves.

"I think I remember where this robeast seems familiar from, Keith," Allura said, barely ducking a swipe from the robeast.

"Where?"

"Haggar created that robeast that could read Voltron's circuitry," she continued, firing her missiles after Brown Lion was out of the way, "and we separated to take it out?"

"I remember," he answered, darting in with his ion knife, scoring a hit but getting kicked back for his trouble.

"I think Haggar modified the design and made this one able to read our Lion's circuitry, too," Pidge finished, following Brown Lion in and scoring a hit of his own.

"Options, guys," Keith ordered, watching Brown Lion get knocked back. As usual, the pilot recovered quickly and joined the fight again.

"We could always try forming Voltron," Hunk suggested, grunting as he was tossed back after scoring a hit on the robeast. "Perhaps it works in reverse of the other robeast."

"Somehow I don't think so, Hunk," Allura argued, leaping up and over the robeast, firing missiles all the way.

_Let me handle it, Keith,_ Dusty broke in, revealing that she'd been keeping up with the battle somehow. _You guys form Voltron and destroy this thing. I'll take care of the rest._

_Are you sure you're up to it?_

_I can do it, Keith,_ she assured him, sounding a little grim. _I've got a surprise for this robeast and I don't think he's going to like it._

_Good luck, Dusty,_ he answered, issuing the orders to the others, adding, "It's all we've got to try. Let's hope it works."

"What about Brown Lion?" Lance asked the question on everyone else's mind.

"The pilot, whoever it is, can handle themselves," Keith said, his tone leaving no room for arguments. "Let's go." Brown Lion stayed behind, keeping the robeast occupied while they formed Voltron. It wasn't easy for anyone to leave the pilot alone down there, but they knew it was the only option left to them. Once Voltron was formed, they landed in time to see Brown Lion kicked viciously, sending it tumbling head over tail, not moving from where it landed fifty or so yards away. The robeast was enraged and attacked Voltron immediately, bleeding from several new wounds that had been inflicted upon it.

"Somebody's mad," Hunk mentioned sarcastically as the robeast bore down on them, razor sharp teeth bared in a savage snarl. It drew it's sword as it came, braced to run them through, but they dodged at the last moment, tripping the monster and giving them a chance to form the Blazing Sword. The two robots dueled, neither able to get the advantage of the other for several minutes. Breaking apart, they took a moment to catch their breaths and study their opponent.

"This robeast is better than some of the others we've fought before, team," Keith said, breaking the tense silence.

"We've beaten them before, Keith," Pidge put in, wiping his face with his forearm, "and we'll do it again."

"It'll mean some fancy moves, guys," Lance added, adjusting his grip on the controls.

"I know we can handle it, Lance," Allura replied, going over the last few moves in her head. "I don't the robeast can read us anymore."

"That doesn't mean we can get lazy," Hunk returned. "We're still going to have to be on our toes." Right at that moment, Brown Lion rejoined the fight, coming up hard and fast from behind, taking the robeast by surprise. It went down, knocked off balance by the force and speed of the attack. Before the robeast could counter, Brown Lion clawed a spot between its shoulders and sliced out a chunk of circuitry.

_Now, Keith!_ Dusty shouted to him, the strength of her command taking him by surprise. _What let it read your moves is now gone, and its vulnerable now. Good luck!_

_Thanks, Dusty,_ he sent back, watching Brown Lion topple, as if lifeless, from the robeast's back as it staggered to its feet. "Now, team!" he commanded the others, knowing that this was their last chance. With a couple of quick moves, the robeast was defenseless. "Run it through!" Moments later, the robeast exploded, leaving nothing of itself behind to prove it had ever been there. The destruction it had caused would take weeks if not months to repair, but it would be done. Voltron broke apart into his component Lions and they headed for where Brown Lion lay on the sand.

"I think it's time we found who's piloting Brown Lion," Pidge said, uselessly as it turned out, because Keith was already out of his Lion and opening Brown Lion's cockpit. He dropped inside and froze: there was no pilot. It was quite possible that the pilot had gotten out in the confusion of the robeast blowing up but was unlikely. There was nothing around for miles, and they would have seen some sign of a person leaving the area.

"Things are getting weirder and weirder," he muttered to himself, taking off his helmet to shove a hand through his hair. "There's no one in here," he reported to the others, already anticipating their questions. "I don't know any more than you guys do. Let's get back home and figure things out there."

* * *

Lance paced while the others sat in the waiting room, praying for time to pass and for Dr. Gorma to walk out of the operating room with news, any kind of news. It had been close to six hours since the battle had ended and there hadn't been a word. As soon as Keith and Lance had gotten Dusty to the infirmary, she'd been whisked away and the doors had swung shut behind Dr. Gorma and his nurses, leaving them behind with absolutely no idea if she was going to be all right or not. Then, as if having Dusty get stabbed in the garden wasn't enough, they'd had to go defeat a robeast and once more drive Planet Doom's forces away from Arus. There was still the question of who had been piloting Brown Lion during the battle, and it seemed doomed to go unanswered, at least until they heard from Dr. Gorma about Dusty.

Each time he passed the doors, he glanced at them, and then at the clock, hoping that time would fly so the interminable wait would finally be over. _How long could it take, really?_ Lance asked himself as he lowered to a chair only to spring up again, the feelings inside him making it impossible to sit still. He knew injuries like Dusty's would take time and care to repair, but it didn't make it any easier to wait. If anything happened to her, Lance was perfectly prepared to rend Lotor and Haggar limb from limb, even if he had to single-handedly blast his way into Zarkon's castle to do it.

Keith watched him pace, wishing he could do the same, but knowing it wouldn't make time go by any faster. There was enough worry in the waiting room as it was, and he didn't want to add his own into the mix. Dusty was a friend and they owed her a great debt of gratitude. Even though he still had his doubts about her history, he hadn't wanted anything like this to happen to her. Behind the secrets and evasions, she was a good person. She'd done so much and given so much to her planet, only to have it repaid by her best friend driving a knife into her back. He glanced at Allura, and knew that if anything like this had happened to her, there would be no stopping him from hunting down those who had harmed her.

Dr. Gorma finally came out, peeling the bloody yellow scrubs and gloves off, dumping them in a biohazard container on his way out. He shoved a hand through his hair, and Allura knew the news wasn't going to be good. She got to her feet and put a hand on Lance's shoulder in silent support. "How is she, Doctor?" she asked before Lance could, seeing the exhaustion and despair in his eyes.

"She's stable for now," he said, scrubbing his face with both hands, "but she's lost a lot of blood."

"We'd be happy to donate," Pidge began, but Dr. Gorma shook his head.

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Pidge," he answered, "but Dusty has a very rare blood type, called 'Bombay'. If we gave her any type of blood that didn't match, she'd very likely die from an infection."

"What about artificial blood?" Keith wondered, watching Lance's face go blank as he tried to control the emotions that had to be running rampant inside him.

"That won't work, either, I'm afraid. Her body would reject it." He sighed, and looked back at the doors. "I've done all I can for her. She's as comfortable as I can make her, and with luck, she'll recover." Turning back to them, his shoulders dropped in a combination of exhaustion and a sense of having let them all, Dusty most of all, down. "I only wish I could do more."

"Thank you for trying, Doctor," Allura said, her eyes swimming with tears. Dr. Gorma gave everyone an apologetic look, his eyes sympathetic, and left them, going back to Dusty's side. He didn't mention that they had almost lost her twice on the table, but something had kept her going long enough for them to finish repairing the damage the knife had caused. It had been extensive, and Dr. Gorma knew that if she'd been even a minute later in getting to the infirmary, she would have been beyond all help. It looked like all their efforts had been in vain and they'd lose her anyway, but Dr. Gorma knew Dusty wouldn't give up without a fight. "Lance."

"Not now, Princess," he answered, not looking at her. "Please. Just . . . give me a minute." His body vibrated under her hand, like a horse straining to bolt, but only supreme control kept him in place. It seemed to her that the wrong word or action would shatter him, and so she squeezed his shoulder gently and moved away, giving him some space. No one else approached him, but he knew they were there and that he might need Keith to knock him unconscious before he could hurt anyone, himself included.

Something was different about Dusty, and he'd known it from the moment she'd climbed out of her lion that first day. He'd kept his distance from her, though, when he could, trying to work out what made her different from all the others he'd known. It seemed likely now that he wouldn't get a chance to work it out, or at least find out if she felt the same way about him, and that was what hurt the most. He felt as if a chapter of his life was ending before it had really begun and without being able to see where it led him. Unable to take the strain any longer, he spun and would have walked out of the waiting room when Dr. Gorma suddenly opened the door again. Lance whirled back around, read the urgency in his eyes, and followed the doctor back to the room where Dusty was resting, waiting for him. He had a moment to think of how pale she was, her face whiter than the pillow she was laying on, her black hair only adding to the contrast.

Her chest barely moved, even with the respirator pushing air in and out of her lungs, and her heart stuttered every few beats before catching its normal rhythm. As he drew closer to the bed, she opened her eyes and he saw that for the first time they were calm and clear, with no trace of the emotions that had clouded them for far too long. Her hand twitched and he took it in his own as he sat beside the bed, barely noticing that they were as cold as ice. Dr. Gorma left the room, leaving them alone. "Hey, kid," he said quietly, not knowing what else to say. "How are you feeling?"

_Like something cats bury,_ she replied, drawing a weak chuckle out of him. _How did the battle go? I vaguely remember hearing the alarms._

"We won, as usual," he answered, "but it wasn't easy. The weird thing about it, Dusty, was that somehow, without a pilot, Brown Lion was there, helping us out." He lifted an eyebrow at her, seeing slight amusement in her eyes. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

_Not a thing,_ she told him, completely innocent. _It's bad, isn't it?_

"Dr. Gorma says you'll be fine with some rest, and if I have to tie you to the bed, you're going to get it. For now, you just concentrate on getting better."

_We both know that's not going to happen, Lance,_ she argued quietly, her eyes closing for a moment as pain flashed briefly across her face. _I'm not going to last much longer. I lost too much blood before you found me._

"Dusty--"

_Death is the one debt no one escapes forever, Lance,_ she said, opening her eyes again. _I may not have asked for this, but I'm going to face it with dignity and grace._ Her eyes smiled even though they shimmered with tears. _That doesn't mean I'm not going to miss you guys terribly. I'll be watching over all of you. Thank you, Lance, for being such a good friend to me. Would you tell the others for me?_

"Don't go, Dusty," he whispered, the plea ripped from him despite his attempts to hold it back. He knew if she died, nothing would ever be the same again: it was already as if a part of him had died and would never come alive again.

_Don't be ashamed of tears, Lance,_ she advised, the gentle smile still in her eyes,_ not if they need to be shed and are done so honestly. It hurts: express it._ She looked up at the ceiling as if she could see something there, like an answer to a question she'd been waiting her whole life to learn. He was surprised when she spoke again, her voice clearer and stronger than it had been until then, and was even more surprised by the words she spoke. They were the words to an ancient prayer on Earth, and almost completely forgotten except in academic circles and the few native people that remembered the old ways.

_Lo, there do I see my father,_

_Lo, there do I see my mother, and my sisters and my brothers,_

_Lo, there do I see the line of my people back to the beginning,_

_Lo, they do call to me_

_They do bid me to take my place among them in the halls of Valhalla,_

_Where the brave may live forever . . ._

Her breath ended with a long, heartfelt sigh of relief, and her heart stopped beating barely a moment later. With tears blurring his vision, he reached out and turned off the respirator and the heart monitor and sat, holding her hand in his, looking down at her peaceful face. Gently laying her hand back on the bed, he brushed away a stray lock of hair that always seemed to fall across her cheek before he stood. "I'll tell the others for you, Dusty," he assured her, even though she couldn't hear him anymore, "and I'll have that prayer carved into your tombstone. Safe passage, my friend." He turned and left the room, passing by Dr. Gorma and the nurses. Some murmured their condolences while others wept openly; Dusty had been a friend to everyone, and would be truly missed for a long while.

As he walked out of the infirmary, the others falling in behind him, he didn't know he'd left his heart behind him in the room with Dusty.


End file.
